Expensive solar energy with a dirt-cheap fixed rate as an enticement

With Energyvision we have a new type of energy supplier. One that offers an electricity supply contract to residential consumers that differs greatly from the average fixed and variable contracts with which we have been familiar for years.

This involves a combination of a fixed multi-year rate for the first 1,000 kilowatt hours of consumption, an equally fixed multi-year rate for the power purchase from solar panels that the company installs on your roof and a variable rate for residual consumption.

In fact, the Brussels solar energy company links an existing offer – where it installs solar panels on your roof at its own expense – to a new energy supply contract. The target group is energy consumers with their own home who do not yet have solar panels.

1. How much is it?

A price comparison via the V-Test of the Flemish energy regulator Vreg indicates that Energyvision’s new energy contract costs a family with an average consumption (3,500 kilowatt hours per year) 26.89 euro cents per kilowatt hour all-in. That is more than 11 percent cheaper than the cheapest fixed contract, but about 2.5 percent more expensive than the cheapest variable rate. The bill for a small consumer (2,000 kilowatt hours) is along the same lines.

It always concerns the price per kilowatt hour, without discounts. In order to launch itself as an energy supplier, the new energy supplier is offering significant discounts. Energyvision presents itself as a price breaker and offers a discount of 400 euros for those who remain a customer for at least a year. Which, according to CEO Maarten Michielssens, is equivalent to the elimination of the fixed fee or subscription price for eight years. This discount currently ensures that Energyvision’s electricity supply contract is the cheapest on the Flemish energy market.

2. Can the price change quickly and significantly?

The company protects itself by protecting a large part of its power consumption against price fluctuations. For a small consumer this would be 100 percent protection, for average consumption it would be 71 percent. This is because the first 1,000 kilowatt hours of consumption is charged at a fixed price that is locked in for ten (!) years. And furthermore, the price for solar power from the panels that Energyvision places on the roof is fixed for no less than thirty (!) years.

Energy experts describe the fixed price for the first 1,000 kilowatt hours of power consumption as very cheap, but are much less enthusiastic about the rate charged for the power that comes from the solar panels on the roof.

3. Are Energyvision’s solar panels really free?

Anyone who works with Energyvision does not have to pay money for the purchase and installation of solar panels. But in exchange, the company does ask for a compensation of 20 euro cents per kilowatt hour for the solar power consumed in the home itself. For thirty years. You will not receive any compensation for the solar power that is injected into the grid.

The consensus in the solar energy sector is that this is expensive for the energy consumer. “Wholesale electricity prices are much lower. What are the chances that electricity will cost 20 euro cents per kilowatt hour on the wholesale market? So far we have experienced that once, just after the outbreak of the war in Ukraine. A prize that requires a war? It doesn’t seem like a smart choice to agree to that,” says energy advisor Kris Voorspools.

4. Wouldn’t it be better to invest in solar energy yourself?

According to an analysis by the consumer organization Testaankoop, a family will be cheaper in the long term by installing solar panels with their own savings or even with financing through a loan. The initial investment is gradually recouped because the energy cost per kilowatt hour of solar power from your own installation is much lower than 20 euro cents.

A calculation module calculates an energy cost of 8.6 to 11 euro cents per kilowatt hour for an average installation of 10 panels (good for a capacity of 4.25 kilowatt peak), for thirty years, in the case of financing via a loan. Those who pay for the panels with their own savings even end up with energy costs of barely 5.5 euro cents. That is almost four times less than what Energyvision has charged for thirty years.

The question immediately arises as to whether you, as an Energyvision customer, are not exposing yourself to extortionate prices. Opinions in the energy sector are divided. A competitor colleague compares it with long-term rental formulas for solar panels. The energy cost charged per kilowatt hour fluctuates around 15 euro cents. “Anyone who prefers complete unburdening must take into account that a price has to be paid for this,” says Luc Demeyere of solar panel installer Earth.

5. Can you easily cancel the contract?

Regarding the supply of electricity via the grid, the law stipulates that an energy consumer can change supplier at any time without switching costs.

Whether you can also prematurely terminate the solar panel contract with a duration of thirty years? That is possible, but taking over the solar panels comes with a hefty price tag. Energyvision then charges a takeover price. This concerns the installation price minus an annual depreciation of 3 percent. The result is that the residual value at which the installation can be purchased drops in price much more slowly than what is standard in the sector, concludes energy advisor Alex Polfliet.

And what happens to the Energyvision solar panels when you sell the house? Currently there are two options. Buy the panels first or a scenario in which the buyer takes over the contract. Michielssens acknowledges that this raises many questions about the smaller print of the agreement. He reports that the option will also be offered to remove the installation.