Energy suppliers Essent and Vattenfall increase variable prices at the turn of the year. This is the first increase since the beginning of 2023, which is largely due to additional taxes and grid management costs. At Vattenfall, the gas price ends up above the current price ceiling limit.
Essent is increasing rates for customers who still have a variable contract. From January 1, they will pay 38.516 cents for a kilowatt hour of electricity and 1.4494 euros per cubic meter of gas (including VAT and energy tax). Electricity will therefore become half a cent (1.35 percent) cheaper and gas more than 12 cents (9.26 percent) more expensive. With average consumption, a household will spend an additional 205.66 euros per year.
At Vattenfall, the electricity price for half of the customers with a variable contract will decrease by 0.7 cents to 33.94 cents per kilowatt hour. The gas price will increase by 20.6 cents to 1.5030 euros per cubic meter. Competitor Eneco will only announce the prices for the new year at the end of November.
Spokespeople for the two energy suppliers cite higher purchasing costs as the reason for the higher gas rates. With cold months ahead, purchasing prices are rising. “That is not unusual,” Essent said. According to Vattenfall, the war in Israel is also pushing up gas prices.
The price ceiling will expire next year. By 2023, this will ensure that households never pay more than 40 cents for electricity and 1.45 euros for gas up to a certain consumption. The group of Vattenfall customers with a variable contract will immediately notice this, because they will soon pay a gas price above the ceiling rate.
Additional taxes and higher grid management costs
The energy bill with both energy suppliers is significantly influenced by taxes (VAT and energy tax) and grid management costs. The basic electricity price at Essent increases by 6.35 percent to almost 21 cents and the basic gas price increases by 1.37 percent to 61.53 cents. So there is a lot of tax in the energy rates. At Essent, 11 of the 12 cents price increase comes from taxes. At Vattenfall, about half of the price increase is an additional tax.
Network management costs are also increasing. Network operators have yet to announce exact amounts, but they previously expressed the expectation that an additional 5 to 10 euros per month will be added. Essent assumes 100 euros per year.
Costs also increase with permanent contracts
These higher taxes and grid management costs will be passed on to customers of all energy suppliers and therefore also to people who have previously fixed their rates. An Essent spokesperson says it is annoying that prices are rising rapidly, mainly due to taxes. “That certainly affects people with a small wallet who live in poorly insulated homes.”
Essent and Vattenfall have been systematically lowering their variable rates since the beginning of 2023, but that has now ended. This may be a reason for customers to opt for a contract with rates that are fixed for one or three years. According to Essent, rates for permanent contracts are now even lower.
In October, there were still four million households with a variable contract and three million with a permanent contract, according to figures from regulator ACM. Until the beginning of this year, a majority always had a contract with fixed rates. Some households may have hoped that energy prices would fall even further in recent months. An Essent spokesperson expects that many customers will still fix their prices before the New Year.
2023-11-23 05:16:13
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