When will my power bill be lower? Europeans are increasingly asking this as energy prices continue to fall. After a sharp decline on Monday, January 16, the TTF gas price drop continued steadily on Tuesday morning. Electricity prices were the same as on Monday, while on the Belgian Power Exchange, that price spiked. In this crisis update, we recap energy developments and news coverage.
The TTF gas price for February 2023 until January 16. On Tuesday morning, January 17, the gas price fell further to €53.1/MWh. Last Friday, that closed at €64. Click here for the current figures.
Daily prices are at a similar level. Long-term contracts reflect the recent sharp drop in gas prices. You can buy gas for the winter of 2024 on the Title Transfer Facility for €56 per megawatt hour and for the winter of 2025 for €47 per megawatt hour.
Monday and Tuesday's electricity prices were on par. The APX day ahead price for base hours lies at €136 and €153 for peak hours. That is a slight decrease. The BELPEX prices rose sharply. Basic hours cost €184.5/megawatt hour, and for peak hours between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., it is €215.
BELPEX price development as per elektriciteitsmarktinformatie.nl.
Dutch member of parliament Henri Bontenbal follows the energy developments closely. He tweeted that he thinks it is "a matter of time" before tariffs go down for customers too.
Gasprijs op de TTF (intraday) is vandaag onder de 55 €/MWh gedoken. Laagste punt van de afgelopen maanden. Kwestie van tijd tot ook de tarieven voor klanten omlaag gaan. pic.twitter.com/2nDpmHJIWb
— Henri Bontenbal (@HenriBontenbal) January 16, 2023
Today's TTF (intraday) gas price fell below 55€/MWh. [The] lowest point in recent months. [It's] a matter of time until customer rates drop too.
Martien Visser is a professor of energy transition in the Netherlands and Corporate Strategy Manager at Gasunie, a Dutch natural gas infrastructure, and transportation company. He, too, shared his views about the gas price falling on Twitter. He showed a calculation indicating that the gas price, including tax, is below the price ceiling.
De gasprijzen zijn vandaag flink gedaald.
— Martien Visser (@BM_Visser) January 16, 2023
NB: 55 €/MWh is gelijk aan 54 ect/m3; incl. ca. 13 €ct/m3 risico-opslag, 14 €ct/m3 BTW en 59 €ct/m3 gasbelasting is dat ca. 1,40 €/m3.
Dat is onder de gasprijscap van €1,45!
De winter is nog lang en gas is nog duur: blijf zuinig! pic.twitter.com/6HfsAtKCrq
Gas prices fell sharply today.
Note: 55€/MWh is equal to 54 ect/m3; incl. about 13€ct/m3 risk premium, 14€ct/m3 VAT, and 59€ct/m3 gas tax is about 1.40€/m3.
That's below the gas price cap of €1.45!
Winter's still long, and gas is still expensive: stay frugal!
Will these still high gas prices fall any further? That is the question. Mark Beekhuis, an energy reporter at the Dutch news radio station BNR, doubts it. "Sixty euros is still double thirty euros. So the hope is that that will still be halved. I don't know if that will happen." He points to, among other things, China being an extra formidable LNG competitor for filling next winter's storage. China's economy is slowly recovering after severe pandemic lockdowns.
The oil price increased in recent days again. A barrel passed the $80 mark again on Friday, according to the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). In the Netherlands, fuel prices are also rising. The Average National Recommended Price for 1 liter of Euro95 is back at €1.968, and for diesel, at €1.91. Compared to last week, especially gasoline prices have risen a few euro cents. On January 9, that was €1.948/liter. UnitedConsumers lists these daily prices.