Dutch multi-year gas contracts now hundreds of euros pricier than one-year deals
Multi-year gas contracts in the Netherlands now allegedly cost households hundreds of euros more than one-year deals, as suppliers pass on future costs of green gas blending and new European CO2 taxes, according to AD.
Essent and Vattenfall charge 1.20 euros per cubic meter under a one-year contract, but 1.40 euros for three years. Eneco’s gap is 11 cents. A family using 1,500 cubic meters annually could pay nearly 1,000 euros extra over three years, according to price comparison platform Keuze.nl.
“The gas price was long the same for one-year and multi-year contracts. The difference began when the cabinet introduced the green gas blending obligation and has since widened,” Geert Wirken of Keuze.nl told AD. “Suppliers are uncertain about extra costs and pass them on to customers.”
Green gas blending requires suppliers to mix renewable biogas—produced from sources like manure, sewage sludge, or plant waste—into the regular natural gas supply. Because companies do not yet know how much they must add from 2027 or whether supply will be sufficient, they reportedly raise prices in advance.
The second driver is ETS2, a European emissions system that, from 2027, will also cover households. “The tax on one cubic meter of gas is now 76 cents, and ETS2 adds 7 to 11 cents. Two-thirds of the bill will be taxes. Even CO2-neutral green gas is taxed,” energy expert Martien Visser told AD. He warned: “I would not personally enter a long-term contract right now.”
Visser added that poorly insulated homes will bear the brunt, while businesses and public services will also see costs rise. “Even a swimming pool ticket will cost more. Energy poverty is already a serious problem.”
Gasoline and diesel is allegedly also likely to become more expensive under ETS2, with prices expected to rise by 9–14 cents per liter for gasoline and 11–16 cents for diesel.
