Last Chance for Old Energy Contract Terms – Take Advantage Before June 1st

“It’s crazy,” says Ben Woldring, owner of the energy comparison site gaslicht.com. According to him, website visits are 40 percent higher than around this time last year. “And then it was already very busy.”

They also see a lot of website visits at comparison site Pricewise, says director Hans de Kok. “We see a lot of people who are comparing, it has been a lot busier in recent days. People wake up when the deadline is approaching, you see that more often.”

Woldring of gaslicht.com sees that there is a lot of interest in permanent contracts. People are now opting for certainty, he says. They don’t want to be surprised by suddenly rising energy prices, like last year:

Woldring, referring to the graph above, explains that prices could fall to the old level before the energy crisis in the near future, but in theory could also rise considerably. And then the sky is the limit.

Those who have a permanent contract in the latter case will not notice the high prices as long as the contract is valid. If the reverse happens and prices fall, you don’t have to worry too much either. People with a current contract who switch to an annual contract today only have to pay a fine of a few tens: 50 euros for electricity and 50 euros for gas.

“These current cancellation rules are actually very strange,” says Woldring. “That very low fine has caused a lot of nervousness among energy companies, because it is very disadvantageous for the suppliers.” It is also the reason why almost no permanent contracts were offered last year. “People should not forget that, those permanent contracts are not a given.”

Old contract? Then you keep the favorable penalty scheme

At the moment, you pay 100 euros for premature termination of a one-year contract (50 euros for gas, 50 euros for electricity). Do you still have an old permanent contract? In that case, the favorable penalty scheme will continue to apply, even after 1 June.

From June 1, at new contracts the cancellation penalty is equal to the loss the supplier incurs because you do not complete the contract.

Review daily

That is also Woldring’s message: anyone who thinks they want to look at it for a while and only conclude a permanent contract when prices start to rise, can come home from a rude awakening. “The boat with those low permanent contracts may have already left by then. Those contracts can be reviewed on a daily basis. And it could also be that permanent contracts are no longer offered at all.”

So today is the last day that you can still conclude annual contracts according to the old rule. According to Woldring, the effective date does not matter. “Even if it is in September. The registration date counts.”

At the moment, 17 permanent contracts are offered for the combination of gas and electricity. The majority are annual contracts. “It’s real and wide choice, a few weeks ago there were no permanent contracts available at all.”

Duration of three years

Anyone interested in those permanent contracts would also do well to visit the websites of the energy companies themselves. For example, Budget Energie and Eneco offer contracts with a term of three years. The same applies to Vattenfall.

The new situation, starting tomorrow, is completely different. As of June 1, a permanent contract is really a permanent contract, comparable to a telephone subscription. The cancellation penalty is then equal to the loss that the supplier incurs because you do not complete the contract. That can amount to several hundred euros.

Three-year contracts

According to Woldring, this also means that it is interesting for energy suppliers to offer more contracts, and also with longer terms. “We expect that from tomorrow many providers will come up with such a three-year contract.” Some providers who do not yet have permanent contracts at all may also come up with offers soon.

Those offers are then a lot more interesting in terms of price, but on less favorable terms. “Temporary termination becomes less interesting. So you actually have to serve out your contract.”