Wholesale price reaches 2022-era level
European wholesale gas briefly traded above €100 per megawatt-hour on Wednesday, crossing that threshold for the first time since 2022. The price had been around €70 in early September. Rai News also reported that gas traded in Amsterdam had exceeded €100.
Supply and storage backdrop
NOS reported that important refineries and pipelines for liquefied natural gas in the Middle East had been hit and that exports from the region had declined. Separately, ORF News cited uncertainty surrounding the war in Iran and less-filled gas storage sites as part of the market context. Neither report provided current storage levels or regional export volumes.
Dynamic Dutch contracts adjust immediately
About 8% of Dutch households have dynamic energy contracts, under which suppliers set a new daily rate based on wholesale prices, according to NOS. A customer with one of the larger providers of dynamic contracts was paying €1.95 per cubic metre of gas, including tax, compared with €1.13 exactly a year earlier.
Using average annual household consumption of about 790 cubic metres, a figure attributed to the Netherlands’ Central Bureau of Statistics, NOS calculated illustrative yearly costs of roughly €1,540 at the higher rate and €893 at the earlier rate.
The effect is less immediate for other contracts. NOS said about 37% of households have variable agreements, typically repriced every three or six months, while 54% have fixed contracts whose rates remain unchanged during the agreed term. Customers seeking a new fixed deal when an existing contract expires could encounter higher prices.