What is a dynamic energy contract?
With a dynamic contract you pay a different price for electricity every quarter hour or every hour: the price on the power market at that moment, plus your supplier's mark-up and energy tax. Tomorrow's prices are known the day before.
The market price comes from the day-ahead market, where electricity is traded per quarter hour one day in advance. Some suppliers bill per quarter hour, others per hour using the average of the four quarters. When there is a lot of sun or wind and little demand, electricity is cheap, sometimes even negative. In the early evening, when everyone is cooking and the sun has set, it is usually expensive.
What the price is made of
Per kWh: the market price of that quarter hour or hour including VAT, the supplier's purchase mark-up and energy tax. Per month: the supplier's fixed supply costs and the grid costs, which are the same for everyone in your region. For electricity you feed back you usually get the market price of that moment, sometimes with a mark-up or feed-in costs.
What you need
A smart meter that measures per quarter hour. An app from the supplier shows when electricity is cheap. A dynamic contract can usually be cancelled monthly.
Who does it suit?
For people who can shift usage to cheap hours: an electric car that charges at night, a home battery, a heat pump with smart controls, or simply the washing machine in the afternoon. If you can't or don't want to, you pay the average price of the hours in which you use electricity, and that is often above the daily average.
Calculate what a dynamic contract costs you
An estimate, not personal advice. How the calculator works: How does this calculator work?
Other questions
- Does a home battery pay off?
- What changes when net metering ends?
- Do solar panels still pay off without net metering?
- Fixed or dynamic contract: which is cheaper?
- Is a dynamic contract smart with solar panels?
- How do I compare dynamic energy contracts?
- What are the risks of a dynamic contract?
- Does a dynamic contract pay off with an electric car?
- What are feed-in costs?
- What will the end of net metering cost me?
- Should I cancel my fixed contract before net metering ends?
- Does a home battery make sense without solar panels?
- Should I switch off my solar panels when power prices are negative?
- Does it pay to charge the electric car on solar power?
- Does a heat pump suit a dynamic contract?
- How do I read my annual electricity statement?
- What is a feed-in tariff?
- How much of my solar power do I use myself?
- Battery, charger, heat pump or another contract: what first?
- How big should my home battery be?
- Does a home battery make sense with a fixed contract?
- Plug-in battery or fixed home battery?
- How much energy does a home battery lose?
- Is electricity cheap at night with a dynamic contract?
- What does a home battery do in winter?
- How much electricity do I use at night?
- Does a home battery suit a heat pump?
- Which energy comparison site can I trust?
- How do I calculate the payback time of a home battery?
- What do time-dependent network tariffs mean for me?