Shift gain: what did shifting yield per month?
The shift gain is the price gap between the evening peak and the cheapest three hours of the day. It shows per month what shifting yielded, calculated from Dutch market prices.
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Free shift gain October 2026
12.4 cents per kWh
In October 2026 electricity in the evening peak (18:00–21:00) cost 24.0 cents per kWh on average, and 11.6 cents in the cheapest three-hour block (12:00–15:00). Anyone who shifted 10 kWh a day paid roughly € 46 less, VAT included.
An average Dutch household (6.7 kWh a day) that shifts a quarter gained about € 8 in October 2026. At half: € 15.
Free shift gain: your home shifts by itself
Once your home has learned to shift through the step-by-step plan, the car, the boiler and the heat pump start in the cheap hours on their own. You use what you already have: that is why we call it free shift gain.
What you shift, you do not need to store. For use that cannot wait, such as cooking and lighting, a small plug-in battery is often enough, or none.
Rule of thumb: moving 10 kWh a day takes roughly 10 kWh of usable storage. A battery remains useful for solar power you do not use straight away.
Guide price for a home battery: € 750 per kWh including installation (DNV market study for RVO, late 2024; suppliers quote roughly € 600 to € 900 per kWh in 2026). Checked on 14 November 2026.
The shift gain per month
| Month | Evening peak | Cheapest three hours | Shift gain | At 10 kWh a day | Average household | Daily spread |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| November 2026 * | 31.9 | 20.9 (03:00–06:00) | 11.0 | € 19 | € 3 | 17.7 |
| October 2026 | 24.0 | 11.6 (12:00–15:00) | 12.4 | € 46 | € 8 | 18.6 |
| September 2026 | 23.7 | 6.1 (12:00–15:00) | 17.6 | € 64 | € 11 | 24.2 |
| August 2026 | 18.5 | 3.3 (12:00–15:00) | 15.1 | € 57 | € 9 | 20.1 |
| July 2026 | 14.4 | 2.2 (13:00–16:00) | 12.2 | € 46 | € 8 | 18.2 |
| June 2026 | 18.1 | 3.3 (12:00–15:00) | 14.7 | € 54 | € 9 | 25.6 |
| May 2026 | 14.7 | 1.1 (12:00–15:00) | 13.7 | € 51 | € 9 | 20.2 |
| April 2026 | 13.6 | -0.5 (13:00–16:00) | 14.1 | € 51 | € 8 | 21.8 |
| March 2026 | 15.9 | 3.5 (12:00–15:00) | 12.4 | € 47 | € 8 | 18.6 |
| February 2026 | 11.3 | 7.8 (02:00–05:00) | 3.5 | € 12 | € 2 | 8.1 |
| January 2026 | 12.6 | 8.4 (03:00–06:00) | 4.2 | € 16 | € 3 | 8.5 |
| December 2025 | 9.9 | 6.6 (02:00–05:00) | 3.3 | € 12 | € 2 | 7.2 |
Amounts in cents per kWh, except the columns in euros. The month with an asterisk is still running and will change until the month is over. Daily spread is the average gap between the cheapest and the most expensive hour within a day. Average household: 2,430 kWh a year (Milieu Centraal), spread evenly over the year, of which a quarter is shifted. That quarter is an assumption, not a measurement.
How we calculate it
- Evening peak. The average bare market price between 18:00 and 21:00, when many households cook, do laundry and charge.
- Cheapest block. The three consecutive hours that were cheapest on average in that month: in summer usually around midday, in winter at night.
- Shift gain. Evening peak minus cheapest block, in cents per kWh.
- Example. 10 kWh a day (roughly an electric car and a boiler) × the number of days in the month × the shift gain, plus 21% VAT.
What the shift gain does and does not say
The shift gain shows what a fixed timer yields: the same block every day, without looking at that day’s price. Control that picks the cheapest hours anew every day does better; the daily spread column is the upper limit.
It is not a saving on your whole bill. Only the market price moves with the moment; energy tax, your supplier’s mark-up and fixed costs are the same every hour. What you gain depends on how much consumption you can shift.
Source: the daily market prices for the Dutch bidding zone, via Energy-Charts (Fraunhofer ISE), data Bundesnetzagentur | SMARD.de, licence CC BY 4.0. You may reuse the shift gain with attribution. The series is also available in machine-readable form. The monthly averages since 2015 are on their own page.
What to do with it
Start with the devices that use a lot of power and can wait: the car, the boiler and the heat pump. The step-by-step plan sets out the order, and combinations shows which supplier controls your device.
An electric car and a boiler, moved to cheaper hours
Your rate is the market price plus your provider’s markup and fixed costs. Only the market part moves with the hour, so the saving comes from when you use power, not from using less.
Picture a household that charges an electric car (roughly 7 kWh a day, about 15,000 km a year) and heats an electric boiler (roughly 3 kWh a day), and moves all of it from the evening peak to the cheapest hours. Adjust the sliders to match your own situation.
This much home battery would be needed to move the same electricity. Your home shifts it by itself. Each block is 2 kWh, roughly one plug-in battery.
An illustrative scenario, not a promise. The gap starts at today’s value: the difference between the cheapest and the most expensive three-hour windows of the day-ahead market. Gaps change every day and by season. Only the market part of the price moves with timing: energy tax, supplier markup and fixed costs stay the same.
Frequently asked questions
Why three hours?
A charging session, a boiler or a washing programme needs a few hours in a row. A three-hour block is therefore more realistic than the single cheapest hour. Boiler as heat battery →
Is the shift gain my saving?
No. It is the price gap per kWh that you shift. How much you save depends on how many kWh you move from the peak to the cheap block. How a dynamic contract works →
How often is the shift gain updated?
The figures are updated daily. The running month is marked with an asterisk and changes until the month is over. Pros and cons of dynamic →
By the editorial team of dynamische-energieprijs.nl. Updated on 14 November 2026. Not advice; always check current prices and terms with the provider.
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