Discover why the energy market shifts to 15-minute rates from Oct 2025, what it means for your bill, and how FlexiO makes optimisation effortless.
The shift from hourly rates to 15-minute rates explained
Expert Wim Croes explains.
The energy market is changing rapidly. Whereas dynamic energy contracts used to have an hourly rate, the energy market will switch to 15-minute rates from the 1st of October 2025.
Why is this being introduced?
Wholesale market prices for electricity have long been determined and traded on a 15-minute basis. Each energy supplier takes a certain “energy position” on the international energy market one day in advance, based on a 15-minute time interval. It does this for all of its customers.
Every day, the energy supplier estimates how much energy its customers will consume, produce or inject in total during a specific quarter of an hour of the following day. The energy supplier also estimates how much it will produce itself with its own installations.
These energy positions of all energy suppliers together form the basis of the day-ahead price, or EPEX price, which in turn forms the basis of your dynamic energy tariff.
Estimates versus reality
Does the reality the next day differ from what the supplier predicted? This deviation is used to calculate the final actual cost of electricity every 15 minutes.
For example, if there is less solar production than expected, a gas-fired power station may have to step in quickly to meet the demand from the grid. This unforeseen cost will be
paid by the energy suppliers. The energy supplier, and not you, therefore pays for this miscalculation.
Dynamic tariffs allow an energy supplier to respond more quickly and encourage you to optimise your consumption according to expected and unexpected energy prices. This is certainly the case when your installation can be controlled every 15 minutes via a smart EMS, such as FlexiO. The chance that the energy supplier will make an incorrect estimate and therefore have to pay for it is reduced.
Benefits for you
In the long term, this is an advantage for the user. Costs will be lower and your energy tariff may become cheaper. What's more, it makes the entire energy market more transparent and fairer. But it also presents more challenges for the end user, as there is a greater chance that the customer will consume or inject energy at the wrong time.
You can monitor your energy consumption yourself every 15 minutes, but that is exhausting and inefficient. That is why FlexiO does it for you. Our smart EMS takes your energy contract into account, whether it is on an hourly or 15-minute basis. FlexiO will optimise your energy system based on this, completely hassle-free.
