Fixed vs Variable Retail Energy Prices in Europe

Before the energy crisis fixed (price and term) and variable prices were relatively similar. A fixed price was often cheaper since it afforded the supplier lower loyalty and procurement risk. Though customers essentially gambled a little on the direction of the market, it was not a particularly significant choice for most customers. In the more mature markets at least, active customers nevertheless tended to choose fixed prices. Since the crisis, the situation has mostly reversed. Fixed prices are often not even available, but where they are, except for a few cases, they are higher than variable prices, in some cases by a very large margin. Customers have therefore mostly been choosing variable prices.

 The following graphs show the situation as of February 2023 for a selection of markets, the EU15 markets. Across all the markets shown, the average price for fixed prices was 43.55 c€/kwh. For variable prices it was 32.87 c€/kWh.