Energy poverty: Over 500,000 households struggled to pay their energy bills last year

The number of households struggling to pay their energy bills remained virtually unchanged last year, according to research institute TNO and Statistics Netherlands (CBS). Over half a million households had low incomes combined with high energy costs or homes that were difficult to heat. The amount that these households fell short of paying their bills increased over the past year.

“We see that the group of people with a low income has decreased somewhat. However, this was offset by the fact that energy costs have risen. These effects more or less canceled each other out,” said CBS chief economist Peter Hein van Mulligen.

After the government discontinued financial support measures in 2024, the number of households suffering from energy poverty rose to 6 percent of all households. That percentage remained the same last year. The government implemented support measures in 2022 and 2023 in response to the energy crisis triggered by the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Energy prices are rising again this year, this time due to the war in Iran. “We do see that effect in the price of diesel and petrol, but not yet in household energy prices,” Van Mulligen said. According to him, the effect of gas and electricity prices for consumers has been limited over the past six months. “This may be because people have fixed contracts, but that is no guarantee for the second half of the year,” he said. “So far, the impact seems significantly smaller than in 2022.”

Low-income households with high energy costs faced an average annual shortfall of €624 in 2025. In 2024, this was €577. This affordability gap is largest for households experiencing energy poverty in owner-occupied homes or homes that are difficult to heat.

Approximately €256 million would have been needed to help energy-poor households out of energy poverty in 2025, according to TNO and CBS. TNO researcher Anika Batenburg could not say to what extent the Emergency Energy Fund, which contains around €200 million, will help. “That depends on how the Ministry is going to arrange that.”

Energy-poor households spent about 12 percent of their income on energy costs last year. That is a slight increase compared to the year before. “Incomes increased, but energy costs increased more sharply,” Van Mulligen said. The average household spends about 5 percent of its income on energy costs.