Average energy prices regarding variable contracts

As of 9 March 2023, this table will be published monthly, providing the average consumer prices paid (on average) by Dutch households for electricity and gas upon taking out a new variable contract. This table will be discontinued as of June 2023.

By that time, CBS’ research into an improved methodology for energy price research will have been completed and an average price for all energy connections can be calculated. That table is expected to be published on StatLine in July 2023.

The table "Average energy tariffs for consumers" currently available on StatLine is calculated based on various types of contracts. Furthermore, the table is based on the same basic information that is used to calculate the price development of gas and electricity in the CPI. This customised table instead describes a more specific part of the household contracts; therefore, it cannot be considered a continuation of the "Average consumer energy tariffs" table. Because of this and the temporary nature, we have chosen to present these prices in a customised table.

The monthly customised publication on the average consumer prices for electricity and gas provides insight into the movements of average prices as paid by Dutch households when they take out a new variable contract. This means that prices of contracts taken out for one year or several years are not included in the calculation. Prices of contracts taken out in the past which are still valid during the reporting month are not included in this statistic. Therefore, the prices presented in the table do not cover all household connections in the Netherlands.

Prices are stated in euros and two different categories can be distinguished, namely fixed annual prices and prices related to the usage by households. Usage-based prices are presented in euros per kilowatt hour for electricity and in euros per cubic metre for natural gas. This is because they include both variable and fixed tariffs, not only for the supply and transmission but also for related taxes.

The figures are available from the reporting month January 2022 onwards and new reporting months are added on a monthly basis. This table will be discontinued as of June 2023.

The variable supply tariffs per consumption unit (kilowatt hour or cubic metre) are presented both including and excluding price cap. The price cap will apply from January 2023 to all contracts of which the price exceeds the set price of the price cap, up to a maximum consumption limit. CBS has calculated the price including price cap based on a weighted average of the estimated annual consumption of both gas and electricity for 2023. This average was determined by combining the forecast by PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency (Scenario average energy consumption per dwelling in 2022 and 2023, Dutch only) with Energy supply of natural gas homes, 2019-2021 (Dutch only). This weighted average consumption takes into account the fact that a number of households consume more than the price cap maximum and thus pay the supply tariff excluding price cap for consumption above the maximum. The average including price cap will therefore not apply to a large number of individual households with a new variable contract, as consumption determines the average price, unlike the variable supply tariff excluding price cap.