“There was now a supplier, I’d never seen one before, that raised prices temporarily as of October 1,” says Donat. “It has to be because otherwise the company wouldn’t be able to make it happen.” Suppliers have to stick to the agreed prices and can run into financial problems as the purchase price has skyrocketed.

DGB Energie even canceled supply contracts with customers, farmers and consumers, according to the trade magazine De Boerderij. Due to skyrocketing prices, delivery will be halted this month or next month, says a message to customers. The Dutch Consumer and Markets Authority is investigating these reports.

Due to the overheating energy market, there are now far fewer bids for contracts anyway: now thirty versus normally ninety. Thus, anyone now entering into a new fixed-rate energy contract would have to pay much more.

According to Pricewise, the average family now spends about 1,300 euros more on a fixed annual contract than it did a year ago. At the moment, it will cost an average of about 3,298 euros. That was 1935 euros last year.

Is it wise to conclude a new energy contract?

Opinions on this are divided. “It’s tough, but our advice with the variant is this: Consider sticking with it for a year,” says Blecker of PriceWise. “It seems contradictory because the price is so high, but this is how you prevent the worst from happening.” Energy prices are expected to rise further in the coming months.

“We say, ‘Don’t panic, wait and see,'” says Donut of the Consumers Association. She warns that fixed prices are too high now, and if the price of energy goes down later, you’ll be stuck with it. “It is better for you to be variable in the moment and wait than to rush into an annual contract.”

In the end, only a crystal ball can make the smartest choice. “The disagreement among advisors over this suggests that no one can predict what the price of energy will do in the coming months,” says Bock van Mejren, an energy expert at Milieu Centraal.