Surging electricity prices drive more households to fixed contracts

Rising electricity prices are prompting more Swedish households to review their contracts and lock in fixed rates, SVT reports, although a fixed price may not be the best choice over the long term.

In Sweden’s southernmost electricity price zone, the share of customers signing fixed-price contracts rose from 17 percent in October to 35 percent in November, according to data from comparison service Elskling. That is the highest level in the zone in nearly two years.

Vattenfall has also seen a sharp increase in interest. “We have seen a substantial rise in interest in fixing electricity prices at the start of this week, particularly in southern Sweden,” Jonas Stenbeck, the company’s head of private customers, told SVT.

Some households may be seeking protection from unexpected costs after receiving high electricity bills last winter. But the cost of fixing a rate has also increased, and variable-price contracts are generally cheaper over time for most customers.

“Historically, spring tends to be the most advantageous time to sign a fixed-price contract,” said Krisztian Horvath, an electricity price analyst at Elskling. It is impossible to know exactly what prices will be a year ahead, SVT noted.