2023-06-25 18:02:24
Jun 25, 2023 at 05:01Update: 6 hours ago
Fixed energy contracts have made a comeback and switching customers remarkably often opt for a multi-year contract. After a year and a half of fluctuating prices, they are looking for certainty and stability, brands and comparators.
Almost everyone currently has a variable energy contract. Until last spring you might not fix your energy price for almost a year and a half.
At that time, the energy bill for many households skyrocketed. And since the beginning of this year down once more. “Now that there is something to choose from once more, people are looking for stability and clarity,” says Hans de Kok of comparison site Pricewise.
Almost one in four switchers at Pricewise opts for a contract of two or three years. So they fix their energy price for a long time. “In 2019 and 2020, it was usually still one in ten,” says De Kok.
The multi-year contract is also more popular than before at comparator Gaslicht.com. “A fixed year is still head and shoulders above the rest,” says founder Ben Woldring. “And rightly so, because with a one-year energy contract you will in any case pass next winter. But now more than one in five people have already opted for a three-year fixed contract, much more than before. Another 4 percent are fixed for two years.”
Energy prices are a fraction higher with a multi-year contract than with an annual contract, but you get extra security in return.
‘Long certainty is typically Dutch’
After a period of price drops, many people think it is a good time to fix the current prices for a longer period of time, De Kok thinks. He also thinks that the war in Ukraine plays a role in fixing the energy price.
“If you spend a larger part of your monthly budget on the energy bill, you want even more security. That’s why we fix our mortgage interest rates for as long as possible. That’s typically Dutch.”
In the event of a sudden price increase, we will immediately take action
People react sharply to fluctuations in energy prices. In recent weeks, the market trading price for gas suddenly shot up once more following months of decline in mid-June. “But it is still ten times lower than in the summer of 2022,” says Woldring.
According to De Kok, the erratic energy market motivates us to quickly conclude a permanent contract. “There are millions more people who will take that step in the coming months.”
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