Thousands of Dutch people are switching to energy contracts with varying hourly rates. They see this flex form as a solution to bring down sky-high energy bills.
Regular energy companies often charge one tariff during the day, which is now fixed for three months. Providers of dynamic contracts charge hourly rates. A day in advance, they announce how much electricity will cost at a certain time.
Prices on such a contract are low if, for example, there is a lot of green energy from wind or sun. Last Thursday, for instance, electricity between 11am and 2pm was free, only the tax (7 cents) had to be paid.
On average, a kilo- watt-hour (kWh) of electricity with a regular variable contract now costs 65 cents. Customers with so-called flexible energy contracts can see on their energy company’s app how much the energy will cost per hour tomorrow and adjust their consumption accordingly. The downside is that no month is the same and so the price changes all the time.
Many new customers
A year and a half ago, ANWB is starting these dynamic energy contracts. As a result of rising energy prices, the number of customers has been increasing significantly recently. “Since last summer, we have added tens of thousands of customers,” says Perry Lievaart of ANWB Energie. ”Now thousands of people are signing up every week. ANWB, one of the ten providers of dynamic contracts, started it to smooth the transition to electric driving. By charging with sustainable electricity at smart times, when there is low demand for electricity, you relieve the energy grid and it saves a lot of money. “Those who drive electric and charge at the cheap hours save up to 1,000 euros a year.”
The new customers are not only electric drivers, but also people who want to do something about their sky-high energy bills. With a dynamic tariff, you give people an incentive to shift usage to the cheap hours. But if you don’t adjust your behaviour, you still save an average of 160 euros a year.”
Those who drive electric and charge at the cheap hours save 1,000 euros a year
Savings can also be made on gas according to the companies offering dynamic contracts. For example, the gas price including tax at ANWB was below 2 euros per cubic metre in recent days, while at the large providers the price averages 2.55 euros.
