People with dynamic energy contracts – which respond to actual energy prices on the spot markets – are benefiting from extremely low prices at present, given the weeks of sunshine.

On Sunday, for example, the price of electricity between 1 pm and 2 pm fell to -462 euros for a megawatt hour – and that means some people were indirectly paid to use electricity in the early afternoon.

For example, Zonneplan, one of the bigger players in the dynamic contract market, was charging its customers -28 cents for a kilowatt hour of electricity from midday to 3 pm on Sunday, the Volkskrant reported.

“Surging solar power is driving electricity prices to historic lows, which is a win for dynamic contract users who can charge for free,” says Koen Kuijper, expert at Energievergelijk.nl.

“However, solar panel owners may need to rethink their feed-in strategy on sunny days. Some solar panel owners even pay more for sending power back than they get in return.”

The government is stopping the current system by which solar panel can deduct the electricity they send back into the grid from their energy bills by the end of next year.  Since the announcement, the sale of solar panels has plunged.