Essent to slash energy rates by 50%, affecting 1.2 million Dutch households

Energy company Essent is cutting its variable rates for energy by 50 percent from April 1. About 1.2 million households will benefit from the lower rates, which will be fixed for three months, Essent said. The company is also preparing to offer permanent contracts “on a large scale again.”

On April 1, Essent will decrease its electricity rates on variable contracts by 52 percent to 48 cents per kWh and its gas rates by 47 percent to 1.82 euros per cubic meter of gas. That is still above the government’s price cap on energy of 40 cents per kWh hour of electricity and 1.45 euros per cubic meter of gas up to average usage.

According to Essent, the falling energy prices allowed it to cut its tariffs this significantly. “Despite the ongoing geopolitical unrest, we hope that the falling energy price will continue in the coming months,” Essent CEO Resi Becker said. “We have spoken to a lot of customers in the past period. The conversations emphasize how much people need peace and stability. With the tariff reduction, and soon also permanent contracts, we are taking a step forward to provide households with this.”

Essent is not the first company to cut its tariffs now that energy prices are falling. Vattenfall announced earlier this week that it would cut its rates to just above the government’s price cap in April. That means that some 700,000 Vattenfall customers who get a loyalty discount will come in under the price ceiling. The smaller Budget Energy announced it was reducing its rates to below the price cap. And Eneco announced that it was selling fixed-rate contracts again.