Many people have apparently taken a look at their electricity bill this year and made a fixed-price agreement. This is certainly the case with the energy company Andel, which has sold far more fixed-price agreements in the first quarter of this year than in the same period last year.
- With fluctuating electricity prices and geopolitical unrest, it is not surprising that customers are looking for where predictability is greatest, says Marlene Holmgaard Fris, CEO of Andel.
To be precise, Andel has made 27 times as many fixed-price agreements in the first quarter as in the first three months of last year. Dark and windless weather sent electricity prices up in the winter months, and since then the war in the Middle East has also left its mark on international energy prices.
At Nordea, consumer economist Ida Moesby can well recognize that the concern about high electricity bills is something that is felt by consumers. According to the economist, however, for most people it is precisely a concern.
- When we look at how Danish consumers' finances are doing, it actually looks really good. So there is a bigger concern right now than how we are actually affected by the rising energy prices, she says.
Russia's invasion of Ukraine has changed habits
According to the consumer economist, it is especially Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022 that has made many people take a second look at their electricity and heating bills. In the wake of the invasion, energy prices increased.
- In recent years, we have had a completely new focus on energy prices, which was otherwise not something that was that interesting to many consumers, she says.
Ida Moesby mentions as an example that how a home is heated is today more important for potential home buyers than it has been in the past. She believes that it is possible to say that the Danes have changed their habits since the invasion of Ukraine.
- We have become more price-conscious in general. There is both a focus on energy prices, but food prices have also increased a lot. So we have become more price-conscious, and we are more restrained with our consumption, says Ida Moesby.
She also notes that Statistics Denmark's consumer confidence figures, which ask about expectations for the economy, have been negative for a long time.
- We are very concerned, but we actually do not see in the economic figures that things are going so badly for Danish consumers. In fact, we have increased purchasing power, and Danish households are generally well-off, she says.
Increased interest in home batteries
At Andel, 40 percent of the company's new electricity contracts in the first quarter of the year were fixed-price. A fixed price agreement means that you know the price for a given period. But it is not only the fixed prices that have been of interest.
Andel can also see increased interest in home batteries that can charge electricity when it is cheap and release it when prices are higher. If there is electricity in the battery, it can also be used during power outages.
Finally, sales of heat pumps have also grown as owners of oil and gas boilers take the consequences of the high oil prices and switch to electricity-based heating.
March has thus been the month in which Andel Energi has sold the most heat pumps.
/ritzau/
Text, graphics, images, sound, and other content on this website are protected under copyright law. DK Medier reserves all rights to the content, including the right to exploit the content for the purpose of text and data mining, cf. Section 11b of the Copyright Act and Article 4 of the DSM Directive.
Customers with IP agreements/major customer agreements may only share Danish Offshore Industry articles internally for the purpose of handling specific cases. Sharing in connection with specific cases refers to journaling, archiving, or similar uses.
Customers with a personal subscription/login may not share Danish Offshore Industry articles with individuals who do not themselves have a personal subscription to Danish Offshore Industry.
Any deviation from the above requires written consent from DK Medier.
