The current weather, with the lack of sun and wind, is boosting the price of electricity and putting people with a flexible contract at a disadvantage, broadcaster NOS said on Thursday.

On Thursday average electricity prices reached record highs of €1,20 per kilowatt-hour and the main cause for the price hike is the weather, energy expert Martien Visser told NOS.

“It’s overcast and there is no wind, so no wind energy either. When that is the case gas-fired power plants will have to work harder, producing more expensive electricity. An additional problem is that fewer gas-fired plants are available because of repairs,” he said.

Contracts for electricity come in fixed contracts, where users are not affected by fluctuations in price, and flexible ones, where users pay based on the cost per hour.

Flexible contract holders receive price fluctuations on an app so they can decide to cut down on use.

Some 350,000 people switched to a flexible contract last year, bringing the total to over three million. Around four million people have a fixed contract for one or several years.

Prices are expected to fall again after 10 pm on Thursday to around €0.30 kWh but experts said the unpredictability of wind and sun means spikes will be more common.