Dutch households pay €630 more for gas, electricity than a year ago

Gas and electricity are still significantly more expensive than a year ago, despite declining tariffs from suppliers and compensation from the government. On average, households pay 37 percent more, putting the annual accounts 630 euros higher.

Statistics Netherlands (CBS) calculated the difference based on the average prices in June. For the average household, these add up to a bill of 2,320 euros per year, compared to 1,691 euros in June 2022.

After Russia invaded Ukraine, wholesale energy prices rose sharply. The panic in those markets peaked in the summer of 2022 after the Kremlin almost wholly cut off natural gas supplies to Europe. The government wanted to ease the pain for households. The most far-reaching compensation measure the now caretaker Cabinet introduced was the energy price cap, which took effect at the beginning of this year.

The energy bill is still higher than in June last year, partly due to higher taxes. This year, the government gave fewer energy tax discounts. The temporary reduction in the VAT rate was also reversed. In addition, people pay more for the transport of gas and electricity to their homes.

People in the Netherlands significantly reduced their energy consumption because of the increased prices. According to Statistics Netherlands, this took an average of 40 euros off the annual accounts for gas and light. If the statistics office looks purely at the prices, the average annual account would be 670 euros higher than based on the average prices in June 2022.

While Netherlands residents paid more in June than a year earlier, the energy price cap did have an effect. In November and December, the average energy bill rose to 3,000 euros per year, much higher than it is now.

CBS calculated the energy prices for the new figures differently than before. The statisticians not only looked at the rates in new contracts but also the prices in current contracts for a total of 6 million electricity connections and over 5 million gas hookups. CBS was very critical of its earlier measurement method last year because it gave a distorted picture of the price increase. That also affected the inflation figures published by CBS.