Long-term contracts for electricity can counter market power and reduce prices in short-term markets. If electricity retailers face competition, however, companies signing long-term contracts are exposed to the risk that a fall in short-term prices would allow rivals to buy on the spot market and undercut them. This paper combines a model of electricity retailing and a Cournot model of competition in the wholesale markets to show that if retailers are sufficiently risk-averse, their reluctance to sign long-term contracts could cause a sizeable increase in prices.