There is still a lot of uncertainty on the energy market despite the sharp drop in prices. This is what the energy supplier Eneco writes in its annual report. Topman Like Tempelman speaks of an ‘extraordinarily turbulent year’ and a huge impact on society due to the energy crisis.
The drop in prices is due to a mild winter, household and business savings, and increased imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to compensate for the loss of gas supplies from Russia. All in all, market prices have “somewhat calmed down” at the moment, says the Rotterdam-based company.
Eneco also has brands such as Oxxio and is also active in Belgium, Germany and the United Kingdom. Due to the war in Ukraine and the sharp reduction in gas supplies from Russia to Europe, energy prices have soared last year and even concerns about gas shortages have surfaced. According to the company, the average monthly bill of Eneco customers has gone from 119 to 208 euros.
Energy poverty
In addition, energy poverty among low-income households with high energy bills has increased in the Netherlands. Businesses have also been affected and have therefore sometimes been forced to reduce or stop operations. But Eneco argues that the situation could have been much worse if the government had not implemented support measures, such as the reduction of the energy tax and the price cap.
According to Eneco, there are risks in the market because more and more energy is generated with wind and sun. This leads to a greater dependence on such sustainable sources and a greater possibility of price fluctuations, which increases financial risks. To deal with this, Eneco has wind farms and power plants that can turn themselves off or on as needed.
Turbulent times
Investments are also being made in battery solutions and plans are envisaged for hydrogen installations to better balance supply and demand. There are large price fluctuations on the gas market. According to Tempelman, the turbulent dynamics in the gas market will remain for the time being.
In the report, Eneco traces the period from 1 January 2022 to the end of March this year. Eneco is switching to a financial year of April 1 to March 31, which is used by the largest shareholder, Japan’s Mitsubishi. In those fifteen months, a turnover of 13.2 billion euros was achieved, with a profit after tax of 380 million euros. Eneco refers to this as “stable results in turbulent times”.
Source: BNR
Andrew Dwight is an author and economy journalist who writes for 24 News Globe. He has a deep understanding of financial markets and a passion for analyzing economic trends and news. With a talent for breaking down complex economic concepts into easily understandable terms, Andrew has become a respected voice in the field of economics journalism.
