Residents of the Netherlands, who have to sign a new energy contract, will pay almost 6,500 euros for gas and electricity annually.

This is more than 4,000 euros more than a year ago (160% more, or 2.6 times more), NU.nl said, based on data from the comparison site Gaslicht.com.

According to the comparison site, an annual contract for gas and electricity cost an average of 6,466 euros per year as of August 1st. This includes the VAT reduction that the Cabinet of Ministers has introduced to help bring down energy prices (that is, the net sum after deducting part of the VAT).

Last year it cost 2308 euros on the same day. The comparison is based on the average consumption of an average household.

Energy prices have been on the rise since May last year, but Russia's NWO in Ukraine has greatly accelerated this rise.

“Energy prices have been exceptionally high for seven months. The longer they stay high, the more people will have to deal with it,” said Gaslicht.com founder Ben Waldring.

People with fixed energy contracts notice an increase when their contract needs to be renewed. People with variable rates see this when energy companies raise their prices.

"Wholesale electricity prices are now 8-10 times higher than usual. Last year, 1 kilowatt-hour of electricity cost 20 euro cents, and now it is from 50 to 70 cents. For gas, it was 80 cents per cubic meter, and these rates are already rising from 2.50 to 3 euros per cubic meter,” Waldring said.

On Thursday, Statistics Netherlands reported that inflation in the Netherlands topped 10% for the first time since 1975 in July, largely due to high energy prices.