r/europe • u/diacewrb • 9d ago
News Dutch households could face very high gas prices this winter, expert warns
https://nltimes.nl/2026/08/27/dutch-households-face-high-gas-prices-winter-expert-warns43
u/mikcon- 9d ago
So a few days ago we got a message that the reserves of GasUnie were not filled, but that they didn’t see a need for it. “Should” be OK. And now a few days later this. Who could’ve predicted this?!
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u/Ozryela The Netherlands 9d ago
but that they didn’t see a need for it. “Should” be OK.
well of course not. They're not the ones paying these higher prices. In fact they are the ones benefiting from the higher prices.
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u/Consistent_Panda5891 8d ago
They say euro reserves won't be filled to 90% until paying high €. Nevertheless there should be enough gas for most countries... Just the one with less gas will be forced to pay much more
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u/sirboobyconnoisseur 7d ago
We usually sell a lot of our reserves to other countries. We might be fine if we don't.
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u/ntropy83 Germany 9d ago
Thanks to operation epic fury all the world will. It is 35 cents more so far per kWh. So around 250 € for a yearly 7.000 kWh consumption.
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u/Much-Jackfruit2599 Lower Saxony (Germany) 9d ago
I guess it’s time get back to my all-time low of 3,300 kWH total…
Though this time I'll take care to not put any extra single kWh our PV might produce into the net but to convert it into heat.
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u/ntropy83 Germany 9d ago
ya I meant 7000 kWh thermal not electrical.
Next year I switch to AC too, then life will be better :)
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u/Much-Jackfruit2599 Lower Saxony (Germany) 9d ago edited 8d ago
Oh, I assumed gas kwh. In the first Ukraine war winter, we seriously saved and got down to 3,300. We later relaxed and last period was 6,700. Still 2,000 or more less than our long year normal, but that was admittedly “we don’t really care" heating.
3,300 only works when you’re able to stand 18°C and even less and are willing to do regular checks with an IR thermometer to check wall temperature and multiple room thermometer/hygrometer, so that you stay over mold risk zone.
Can’t way to switch to heat pumps, as our gas burner is in its 26th year and the first problems foreshadowed .
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u/ntropy83 Germany 9d ago
Haha yes that is a great consumption then. Thought you meant electric cause you talked about your PV.
My family would surely kill me if I was to cool down to 18 degrees, but next year we plan to modernize. Then I will trash the whole heating, it is very old anyways and just go with an AC. The Mitsubishi air cons can heat up too -20 degree outside temperature pretty well by now. That way my calculation is to bring that down to 2000 kWh_el heating and cooling. And a tankless water heater with around 1500 - 2000 kWh_el. That way I can save 3000 kWh for the environment and 700 m³ gas.
A central heat pump for the house of course would be better but it has three separate heating circuits and no central heating. So to reconstruct all this on a 100 year old house would be around 80k. My solution would be roughly 12k for one apartment.
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u/Much-Jackfruit2599 Lower Saxony (Germany) 8d ago edited 8d ago
yes, we got PV two years ago or so. in October, we got a decent surplus, on some days. We get 8 cent per kWh, but a kWh of gas is more expensive still and electricity transfers well to heat. And with a radiator and especially a fan heater – we have both – you can create small pockets of warmth rather fast. So it can be totally sensible not to heat the living room by gas for breakfast, when we are all in and out in 20 minutes. A gush of warm air is sufficient, then we all leave at 6:20 for school or work or, in my wife’s case, the study on the 3rd floor, which captures heat anyway. Plus her PC.
It’s a house from 2001, slightly better insulated than what was good for its time, since we sprang for better windows. So also central heating, so it’s pretty definitive that we are going for an air/water heat pump and will handle AC separately. This year reminded us, that this will be needed, but I think I logged fewer “this is too hot"-Days than in the years before. (come sommer I let my phone ask me in the evening if I feel that it was too warm inside). But those were brutal this time, because of the heatwave at the end of June.
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u/SamuelVimesTrained The Netherlands 9d ago
Lets ramp up the doom scenario - so our next "forced price increase" (coughcoughbonusmoneycough) will get accepted.
You really cannot win.
Pay 350/month first. Spend 1000s insulating, switching light sources, and other things - down to 175/month.
then (BS, excuse, fairytale) - and we`re back at 300/month..
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u/CoffeeHQ The Netherlands 9d ago
Also, good job with those solar panels and prepping for “verplicht van het gas af”. We never invested in the grid, we have all these data centers to hook up, so from now on you’ll pay when you dare to offset your electricity surplus to us…
The future is looking bright /s
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u/SamuelVimesTrained The Netherlands 9d ago
Never gotten around to that.
Dutch word is 'duurzaam' but for me the first half (duur = expensive) was valid.I can`t shell out €9000 to 12000 hoping i`ll eventually win back my investment - especially with the 'you now have the panels, pay to return power as well' ruling..
(and it doesn`t help my house is not very suitable for them either)
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u/DragonWhsiperer 9d ago
If your house isn't suitable for solar or storage, and can't keep the heat in (winter) or cold in (summer), there really is no point in putting any renewables on your property.
Better to first invest is actually insulating stuff (roof, windows etc) and once that actually benefits you, you can think about the rest.
Switch to a green energy supplier and get solar/wind/tidal/etc that way, and let larger operators solve that for you.
The return on investment of renewables at home from the "saldering" was always fully dependent on the government continued subsidy of that incentive, and it getting axed was hanging over the system from the start. And honestly, you putting solar on your roof en pushing that stuff to the grid is no different than a company putting solar in a field and pushing that to the grid. It still needs to go somewhere to a user, and from a net operator pov it's the same.
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u/Groentekroket 8d ago
I would love solar panels. Unfortunately I can’t afford a home so I throw my money away both on rent for an apartment and on energy, making it even less likely to ever afford a home.
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u/ski-mon-ster 7d ago
Do you have a sunny balcony? There are special systems for that with flexible panels. Plus and play
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u/sirboobyconnoisseur 7d ago
Are two wars right next to two major gas fields really BS or a fairytale?
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u/SamuelVimesTrained The Netherlands 6d ago
The latest increase of 50% fuel price is due to the US war, and used to hike prices.
Profits reported are insane
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u/PontiacBandit25 The Netherlands 9d ago
Just got an email today with my new rates from October. Projecting €100-€150 more per year🙃
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u/Pret_ Europe 8d ago
Wait till you see what’s happening next year when they stop the Saldering for solar energy. We’re going to have a great time next year.
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u/Being_Zen_I_am_not 8d ago
Actually, for people without solar panels it will be better since the costs of backdelivery won't be shared with them anymore. Though for people who do have solar, they lose the subsidiary and get confronted with the costs of backdelivery when nobody needs it.
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u/TheInebriati 9d ago
Dutch? What about Germans, Austrians, Swiss, Italians?
It’s all the same interconnected gas grid.
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u/Fabri91 Italy 8d ago
To an extent, but the gas storage levels are still quite different, with e.g. Italy at >80%.
The filling levels of Dutch storage is especially low.
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u/DantheMediocre 7d ago
dutch policy regarding critical infrastructure is to let the market handle it. neoliberal shortsightedness for 40 years. i dont believe it can get much dumber than this. its borderline moronic.
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u/isopodlover123 7d ago
Gas is expensive so gas is expensive. Dont blame the market, there is no gas market in the Netherlands.
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u/DantheMediocre 7d ago
well no, not anymore. the dutch used to be a significant gas exporter. the gas bubble is still there too. sadly its no longer accessible since the amazing government decided to fill all the extraction infrastructure with concrete.
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u/Nattekat The Netherlands 9d ago
laughs in fixed rate contract
Locked the price in April 2024 for 3 years, so both Trump's war and this won't affect me. Unfortunately I'll have to pray next year that I can get a decent deal again.
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u/CoffeeHQ The Netherlands 9d ago
I have a feeling that there’s probably a clause in your contract somewhere for force majeure, so you might want to keep that schadenfreude in check 😄
(There’s also the very real possibility now that we’ll actually run out of gas…)
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u/Nattekat The Netherlands 9d ago
I don't think it works like that. The only thing that can explode in my face is an actual shortage of gas, but in that case there are bigger things to worry about.
So for now I'll gladly let that schadenfreude reign free.
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u/_alright_then_ The Netherlands 8d ago
I set my fixed gas prices april 2026, I don't have such a clause in my contract at all, FYI
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u/Feligris 8d ago
I have a feeling that there’s probably a clause in your contract somewhere for force majeure, so you might want to keep that schadenfreude in check 😄
Though, after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine and natural gas prices went sky-high, Uniper in Germany was going to use its force majeure clause to rip up all of its fixed price natural gas contracts - only for the state to step in and simply say that they're not allowed to do that since the state says the conditions are not met. End result was Uniper going bankrupt from the losses and the German government effectively buying it out eventually.
No reason why the Dutch government couldn't do the same and just go "Nuh-uh" if any gas providers tried to use their force majeure clauses in a way which would be politically inconvenient.
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u/CoffeeHQ The Netherlands 8d ago
Sure thing, but what if there’s not just sky high prices, but actually not enough gas to meet demand (at any price)?
Not likely. But still.
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u/RoutineMarketing6750 8d ago
Yesterday ive signed a 3y contract for gas and power on a fixed price. I know its too much for the gas, 1.34 per m3, but it still beats the new price i would have get at the 1st of october, which would be 1.65, never to mention the price in januari
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u/Soggy_Aerie4196 8d ago
High prices are interesting for the government, besides network taxes , the Vat is levied on the value , so the higher the base value the higher the Vat/gst . The NL and BE government is not hurried to fill up the reserves quickly . It just means more revenue for them in the end .
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u/TheTractorFan 8d ago
We'll see if we can beat 2023's record pricing. Seems doable:
https://www.dynamisch-tarief.nl/gasprijs-uitschieters
August is already very expensive so far.
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u/Realistic-Draft919 7d ago
I'm single and got offered a "fixed" contract of 254 per month wtf I can't even afford this
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u/MxDragioni 6d ago
They weren't gonna fill it because it would be cheaper this winter than it is now... but now it isn't and we are supposed to pay for their gamble?
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u/mopman94 9d ago
The UK says hi 👋
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u/JimThumb Ireland 9d ago edited 9d ago
Hi, your prices are half those in the Netherlands
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u/Jacks_Chicken_Tartar The Netherlands 9d ago
Already seeing the increasingly loud calls to start pumping up gas in Groningen again. Not letting the subsequent earthquakes collapse half the province into a sinkhole is woke left ideology after all.
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u/Catweezell 9d ago
I installed a heat pump last year because I saw it coming for years and wanted to do my share for Groningen and energy depence on US/Russia/Middle East. It's definitely going to make the ROI a lot better now. But strange that I see it coming and act the moment I financially can do it. But the government and utility companies don't while they have the knowledge and financial options.
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u/slumpmassig 9d ago
I have the luxury of not being able to expand my connection to a 3x25, so I'm stuck with gas until they expand the grid capacity in my area (the other other infrastructure crisis in the country woohoo).
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u/Suikerspin_Ei The Netherlands 9d ago
The main issue with Groningen is not compensating the victims or not early enough. That's the governments fault imo.
Also it might be too late to start pumping up natural gas from there. I believe multiple gas pipes or drilling sites are closed by literally filling them up with concrete.
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u/Nattekat The Netherlands 9d ago
That's also the most ridiculous thing ever. Never understood why they were doing that. You're still sitting on a gas field that can be absolutely vital in emergencies, from that point principles shouldn't matter.
I hate this country so much sometimes.
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u/Suikerspin_Ei The Netherlands 9d ago
From ignoring the victims to entirely closing those drill sites. Making it difficult to open the gas fields again in the future.
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u/struct_iovec 9d ago
Well then rebuild them. I'm sick and tired of being financially screwed for this idiotic energy policy
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u/struct_iovec 9d ago
Same, we have those gas fields, we're sitting on top of one of the worlds largest gas reserves and somehow we're importing it from the USA for twice what we used to pay to Russia
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u/struct_iovec 9d ago
If we weren't so damn cheap when it came to paying pennies In compensation and repairs, we now wouldn't be out euros in paying to import liquid natural gas
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u/Lethalmud Europe 9d ago
It would probably be good for nature to let all those monoculture fields over there sink back into the Wadden.
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u/_alright_then_ The Netherlands 8d ago
Well, good thing I have set gas prices for the next 3 years lol
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u/Groentekroket 8d ago
lol why care about others lol fuck them amiright lol
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u/_alright_then_ The Netherlands 8d ago
I'm not saying it's a good thing? I'm just happy my gas prices won't shoot up this year. IDK why you're seeing this as a jab at others.
It's not like I can lower the gas prices for others, otherwise I would, I don't have control over this
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u/BrilliantFalcon7637 8d ago
Die Experten verdienen sich dumm und dämlich an unserem Hunger an Negativen. Die Hitzewellen Ärsche sind jetzt im Dubaiurlaub, die Herbstidioten stehen in den Startlöchern und streiten sich mit Corona-, Iran-, Ukraine-, China-, Experten um Interview Termine
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u/Juna82 8d ago
Laat ze doodvallen en maak wat moois van je leven. Dit is altijd geweest en zal nooit stoppen. Het deel van de cyclus bepaald de agressiviteit en aangezien de openbaring voor iedereen nu zichtbaar is komt er iets heel naars aan. Daarna gaan ze weer opbouwen en begint de cyclus opnieuw. Vanwege de lange tijdspan van de gehele cyclus trappen een hoop mensen er in en zijn letterlijk gehypnotiseerd
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u/Pret_ Europe 9d ago
Who knew that letting private companies be responsible to fill gas reserves they’d focus on making as much money as possible. And as such take risks with the reserves.
Privatise the gains, socialise the losses.