Energy bills will still be high in 2035; Differences between households increasing

Due to rising grid management costs, energy prices, and gas taxes, the energy bill for many households will still be high in 2035. Essent expects this based on its own study and a study that the energy supplier had carried out by the research agency Berenschot. Moreover, Essent predicts that there will be significant differences between energy bills.

That is due to the extent to which homes have been made more sustainable and the way in which houses are heated. Low-income households, in particular, may be affected by this, Essent expects, for example, if they live in an old terraced or rental house. “If making the home more sustainable is financially impossible, and they still use natural gas, vulnerable households, in particular, will be confronted with permanently high energy bills in the coming years,” the energy company said.

Berenschot investigated which factors will influence the energy bill until 2035. The results show, among other things, that the consumer price of gas and electricity is expected to remain above the level before the energy crisis. The fixed part of the energy bill, which includes, for example, grid management costs, will also become more expensive. Berenschot assumes a likely increase of between 5 and 15 percent.

On the other hand, households with heat pumps and solar panels will come out relatively cheaply. They benefit from the lower tax on electricity, while families with a central heating boiler suffer from the higher tax on gas. According to Essent, households with only a central heating boiler will have the highest energy bills.

According to Essent CEO Resi Becker, “tight choices must be made between the different costs of the energy transition and an affordable energy bill. She advocates for, among other things, limiting the increase in gas taxes and grid management costs. “That also ensures that it continues to pay off to make the home more sustainable and that households have maximum control over reducing their energy bills.”