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Hundreds of gas suppliers are currently increasing their retail prices
Photo: Marijan Murat / dpa
According to the Federal Ministry for the Environment and Consumer Protection, customers whose current electricity contract has been terminated do not have to accept price increases.
"From our point of view, the supplier who gives notice of termination is committing a breach of contract," said a ministry spokesman.
The background to this is the recent waves of layoffs due to the tense situation on the electricity markets. For example, the provider Stromio had terminated all of its electricity supply contracts for the brands “Stromio” and “Grünwelt Energie” before Christmas and justified this with an unprecedented price explosion at the European energy trading centers. Industry experts assume that several hundred thousand electricity customers will be affected by the termination by Stromio alone. They are now threatened with higher tariffs from the local basic supplier, who takes over the delivery of electricity as a so-called replacement supply. According to the Federal Network Agency, at least 38 providers had indicated by the end of last year that they wanted to end the electricity supply.
The spokesman for the consumer protection ministry emphasized that customers have the right to "pay the same price for electricity" as "they would have agreed with their first supplier, the main supplier."
In the event of price increases, the terminating provider was obliged to "pay the customer compensation," the spokesman continued.
Electricity customers could make a corresponding demand on the former provider, since in such cases they would have "double damage": On the one hand, they would lose their usual electricity provider and, on the other hand, they would suddenly have to deal with higher prices that they would never have contractually agreed upon .
They wouldn't have to accept that like that.
hej / dpa-AFX
