In this guide
Dutch energy offers look interchangeable until you notice that the price per kilowatt hour behaves completely differently depending on three words in the contract title. One version holds still for years, one moves a few times a year with a month’s warning, one moves every hour.
Choosing between them is not a hunt for the cheapest tariff, because nobody knows which will be cheapest in eighteen months. It is a decision about how much price movement your household can absorb, and what leaving early would cost if you got it wrong.
Disclosure: this article contains affiliate links to Eneco, Essent, Vandebron and UnitedConsumers, approved partners of ours. If you sign up through one of those links we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. All rules and figures below are quoted from official Dutch sources with the date we read them.
💡 Related: what drives your first winter energy bill, how switching energy supplier works, Dutch utilities explained.
The three contract types, in the terms the offer uses
Suppliers all describe the same three structures, and the Dutch words appear on the offer even in English sign-up flows.
Vast tarief — fixed. “Bij een contract met een vast tarief betaalt u dezelfde prijs voor elektriciteit of gas”: the same price for the agreed term, for example 1 or 3 years. Taxes and network charges can still change around it.
Variabel tarief — variable. The supplier may change the rate per kWh and m³, usually at fixed moments such as each quarter, and more often only if the terms say so clearly. Whatever the rhythm, “de leverancier laat u de nieuwe tarieven minimaal 1 maand van tevoren weten” — at least a month’s notice of the new rates.
Dynamisch leveringstarief — dynamic. The electricity rate changes every quarter of an hour, hour or day, gas daily, because it follows the wholesale market. (All three: consument.acm.nl, vaste en variabele leveringskosten energie, retrieved 2 October 2026.)
All three describe only the commodity element. Nothing else on your bill is fixed by a fixed contract.
What a fixed contract actually buys you
Certainty about one line item, for a defined number of months.
If wholesale prices fall you keep paying the old price; if they rise the supplier must still deliver at the agreed price. ACM notes that suppliers with fixed prices add risk surcharges on top of the purchase price for exactly that reason (acm.nl, retrieved 2 October 2026).
Two points for internationals. A three-year term is a long commitment if your job or visa situation might move you: ACM says an exit fee can apply even if you cancel because you are moving or emigrating, and advises a short, variable or dynamic contract if you may emigrate. And read the end date: ACM says that when a fixed term ends, your fixed rate changes into a variable rate, with at least 30 days’ notice of the new rates (consument.acm.nl, retrieved 2 October 2026).
Check Eneco's current consumer tariffs
The variable contract: a quarterly reset you are warned about
A variable contract is the middle option and a flexible choice in a first year, because it carries no exit fee. Contracts with variable or dynamic rates carry no opzegvergoeding at all (consument.acm.nl, energiecontract opzeggen, retrieved 2 October 2026). With a notice period of at most one month, that is a position you can exit as soon as you understand your own consumption — usually after one winter and one annual statement.
Use the month’s notice rather than filing it. The letter announcing new rates from the coming quarter is your cue to compare, and you can act before the higher rate ever reaches a bill.
Dynamic pricing: for households that can move their consumption
A dynamic supply rate turns your electricity price into a curve that follows the wholesale market. The price can differ from hour to hour, and you pay more when wholesale prices rise.
The regulator’s framing is a useful test here. Under the agreements between ACM and Energie-Nederland, suppliers must explain how the pricing method works and make clear that a winter bill is higher than a summer one, so that consumers can decide whether they accept that risk and can afford it if tariffs increase (acm.nl, agreements on dynamic-price energy contracts, December 2021, retrieved 2 October 2026). They also calculate an expected purchase price for the coming twelve months monthly, using a fixed method, so offers can be compared on a like basis.
The honest question is therefore not whether dynamic pricing is cheaper on average, but whether you have something to shift — a car charging overnight, panels, a battery, a heat pump on a timer — and whether a bad month would be an annoyance or a problem.
See Vandebron's current tariffs
The costs your contract type does not touch
This is where comparison pages mislead by omission.
| Cost element | Does contract type change it? | Who sets it |
|---|---|---|
| Price per kWh and m³ | Yes — this is the whole choice | Your supplier |
| Vaste leveringskosten (standing charge) | No, but it differs per supplier | Your supplier |
| Network charges (netbeheerkosten) | No | Your grid operator; ACM sets the maximum amounts |
| Energy tax and VAT | No | National government |
The standing charge is the element people forget. “De vaste leveringskosten hangen niet van uw verbruik af” — it does not depend on consumption, and your supplier sets its own level (consument.acm.nl, retrieved 2 October 2026). For a studio with modest usage, a lower standing charge can outweigh a higher price per kWh; for a family in a cold house, the reverse. Compare on the annual total for your kWh and m³, standing charge included. Our energy providers guide covers which suppliers serve customers in English, and the utilities week-one checklist covers the steps around a move.
The fear that stops people switching: the exit fee
The opzegvergoeding is no longer a flat penalty. For fixed contracts concluded from 1 June 2023 it equals the loss your supplier makes because you did not see out the term (consument.acm.nl, retrieved 2 October 2026). It is the energy you would still have taken until the end date, multiplied by the difference between your rate and the current rate at the same supplier for a contract as long as your remaining term.
Three consequences follow:
- If market rates have risen or held level, there is no loss to compensate, so the fee is zero.
- The closer the end date, the smaller the remaining volume and the fee.
- Variable and dynamic contracts carry no fee, nor does leaving at the end of a term.
You are entitled to the sum before you commit: ask your supplier for your expected fee first; ACM says a calculation stays valid for 2 months (consument.acm.nl, retrieved 2 October 2026). If the fee looks wrong, ACM publishes a template complaint letter for this case. The switching guide covers the move itself.
Solar panels change the arithmetic from 2027
If your home has panels, the decision now has a deadline attached. The salderingsregeling, which lets you net electricity you feed back against electricity you consume, stops on 1 January 2027; you can net up to and including 31 December 2026. After that you receive a payment for what you feed back, which until 2030 must be at least 50% of the bare electricity supply tariff (rijksoverheid.nl, salderingsregeling, retrieved 2 October 2026).
So your feed-in payment becomes a supplier-specific number worth asking about, alongside any terugleverkosten. The Dutch government notes that electricity you generate and use directly carries no taxes or supplier costs, so using it yourself lowers your bill. What the end of netting means for your panels is covered in net metering ends in 2027.
What to take from your annual statement before you choose
Your jaarafrekening holds the only consumption figures that describe your household rather than an average one. Before you look at a single offer, write down:
- Annual electricity in kWh, plus the day/night split if you have that meter.
- Annual gas in m³ — the number that dominates a Dutch winter bill.
- Electricity fed back, if you have panels.
- The standing charge you paid over the year.
- Your contract type and end date, and whether you are on a rolled-over variable rate.
- Your current termijnbedrag, because a switch resets it.
Then run every offer against those numbers.
Compare Essent's contract options
Where UnitedConsumers fits into the three types. UnitedConsumers describes itself as an energy supplier since 2008 and says it has a long-term relationship with ENGIE for purchasing energy, which allows it to offer 100% Dutch green electricity (unitedconsumers.com, Engie partnership page, checked 2 October 2026). It offers the same three structures described above: 3-year fixed, 1-year fixed, and variable with no fixed term. The discount is shown as a credit: up to €150 on the 3-year fixed contract, €50 on the 1-year fixed contract, and 20% off the net kWh rate (excluding energy tax) on the variable contract. No tariff is shown until you enter your postcode and house number. UnitedConsumers also says it does not reimburse an exit fee charged by your old supplier (unitedconsumers.com/energie, checked 2 October 2026). A credit is not a tariff, so to compare it like for like with other offers, convert it to a per-kWh figure for your own consumption.
Which type fits which household
| Your situation | Usually points to | Why |
|---|---|---|
| First year here, consumption unknown | Variable | No exit fee, notice of at most one month, exit after your first annual statement |
| Tight monthly budget, cold house | Fixed | You are buying predictability; suppliers add risk surcharges to fixed prices (ACM) |
| Possible move abroad within a year | Variable | An exit fee can apply to a fixed contract even if you emigrate |
| Solar panels, EV, battery or heat pump | Dynamic | You can shift consumption to cheaper hours |
| Comfortable buffer, willing to watch prices | Dynamic or variable | You can absorb a bad month and act on a bad quarter |
The decision point is not the tariff on the comparison page; it is how much a bad winter month would hurt. See also our first Dutch winter guide and the clock change on 25 October.
Final thoughts
Pick the structure before the supplier. Once you know whether you want a price that holds, one that resets quarterly with warning, or one that moves hourly, the comparison becomes arithmetic rather than guesswork.
In your first year, with no annual statement yet, consider the variable option and revisit the decision once your first jaarafrekening tells you what you actually consume. A variable contract carries no exit fee.
This article explains how Dutch energy contract types and cancellation rules work and is not financial advice. Rules are quoted from consument.acm.nl, acm.nl and rijksoverheid.nl as retrieved on 2 October 2026; tariffs change continuously, so verify current rates and any exit fee with your supplier.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between a variable and a dynamic Dutch energy contract?
They differ in how often the price moves and who absorbs the swing. With a variable rate, your supplier may change the price per kWh and per m3, normally at fixed moments such as each quarter, and it must tell you the new rates at least one month in advance (consument.acm.nl, vaste en variabele leveringskosten, retrieved 2 October 2026). With a dynamic supply rate, the electricity price changes every quarter of an hour, every hour or every day, and the gas price daily, because it follows wholesale market prices (same source). So a variable contract gives you a price you can plan around for months at a time; a dynamic contract gives you a price that rewards shifting consumption to cheap hours and punishes you on expensive evenings. Neither carries an early-exit fee (consument.acm.nl, energiecontract opzeggen, retrieved 2 October 2026).
Do I pay a fee if I leave a Dutch energy contract early?
Only on a contract for a set term that has not yet ended, and only if your supplier loses money on your departure. For fixed contracts concluded from 1 June 2023 the opzegvergoeding is no longer a flat sum: it equals the loss the supplier makes because you did not see out the term, calculated as the energy you would still have taken until the end date multiplied by the difference between the rate you pay and the current rate at the same supplier for a contract as long as your remaining term. If market rates have risen or stayed level, there is nothing to compensate and you pay nothing. Contracts with variable or dynamic rates carry no fee, nor does leaving at the end of the term. The fee applies even if you are moving house or emigrating. ACM advises asking your current supplier for your expected fee before you switch, says the supplier must explain the calculation clearly, and says a calculation stays valid for 2 months (consument.acm.nl, energiecontract opzeggen, retrieved 2 October 2026).
How much notice do I have to give my Dutch energy supplier?
The notice period is written into your contract and is at most one month, starting the day after you give notice (consument.acm.nl, energiecontract opzeggen, retrieved 2 October 2026). When you switch, the new supplier arranges the switch (ACM ConsuWijzer). That does not remove the fee question on a fixed contract, so settle that first. If you are moving house, ACM says you can let your current contract continue at the new address or choose a new supplier, in which case you cancel the old contract and an exit fee may apply (consument.acm.nl, energiecontract bij verhuizen, retrieved 2 October 2026).
Are the taxes and network charges different between suppliers?
No. Energy tax and VAT are set nationally and are identical whichever supplier you use; network charges go to your grid operator, and ACM sets the maximum amounts each year (they differ per grid operator). What does differ per supplier is the vaste leveringskosten, a standing charge that does not depend on your consumption and covers costs such as the supplier's administration (consument.acm.nl, vaste en variabele leveringskosten, retrieved 2 October 2026). It matters most to small households, because a standing charge is a larger share of a small bill. When you compare offers, add the annual standing charge to the commodity cost rather than comparing the price per kWh alone.
Is a dynamic contract a bad idea if I have no solar panels or battery?
Not automatically, but the case is thinner. A dynamic supply rate pays off if you can move consumption into cheap hours, and that flexibility usually comes from something: panels, a home battery, an electric car you charge overnight, a heat pump on a schedule, or simply the freedom to run the washing machine at three in the afternoon. Without any of that, you take the price risk and gain less of the upside. ACM and Energie-Nederland agreed that suppliers of dynamic contracts must explain how the contract works, including that a winter bill is higher than a summer one, so that consumers can decide whether they accept the risk and can afford it if tariffs rise (acm.nl, December 2021, retrieved 2 October 2026). Treat that as the test: can a bad winter month be absorbed by your budget?
What changes for solar panel owners in 2027?
The salderingsregeling, which lets households net the electricity they feed back against what they consume, stops on 1 January 2027. Households and small businesses can net their own generation up to and including 31 December 2026; after that they receive a payment for electricity fed back instead, which until 2030 must be at least 50% of the bare electricity supply tariff, meaning the tariff without taxes (rijksoverheid.nl, salderingsregeling, retrieved 2 October 2026). That matters for the contract choice because your feed-in payment is then tied to your supplier's tariff, and because the Dutch government notes that electricity you generate and use directly carries no taxes or supplier costs. If you have panels, ask any prospective supplier what it pays for feed-in and what it charges in terugleverkosten.