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Private households used about ten percent less gas during the crisis
Photo: Ina Fassbender / AFP
He sells electricity and gas to a good 14 million customers in the Federal Republic - now Germany's largest energy supplier E.on is warning that in the energy price crisis one should not feel a false sense of security.
"We have to save a lot more in Germany and throughout Europe," said E.on boss Leonhard Birnbaum at an event in Essen.
It is unlikely that the Federal Republic will have a supply problem with natural gas this winter.
But the demand for gas is low, mainly thanks to the comparatively warm winter weather, and the storage tanks are correspondingly well filled.
"We can't give the all-clear for the winter of 23/24," Birnbaum warned.
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Leonhard Birnbaum has been head of Germany's largest energy supplier E.on since 2021
Photo: Roland Weihrauch / picture alliance / dpa
According to the Federal Network Agency, Germany's gas storage facilities were almost 80 percent full, which is more comfortable at the moment than the average in recent years.
However, during the warm months of this year, the storage facilities should be filled again for the next winter – this time without the Federal Republic of Germany being able to expect gas deliveries from Russia.
Industry in Germany has saved around 20 percent of gas in the past few months, said Birnbaum - but this is also because companies have shut down their production.
"It won't last long," says the E.on boss, "but will endanger jobs and prosperity in the long term."
"That's not enough," Birnbaum warned.
"We can't count on another warm winter helping us."
»The cheap gas will soon be sold«
After all, gas on the wholesale market, where suppliers like E.on buy the quantities for their customers over time, is no longer quite as expensive as it was at the peaks of the past year.
According to the Federal Association of Energy and Water Industries (BDEW), the price there has been around 70 euros per megawatt hour for a few weeks – roughly the same as shortly before Russia attacked Ukraine.
However, according to E.on boss Birnbaum, this is no reason to give the all-clear: "Prices are still at a level that we thought was unthinkable just a few years ago." In addition, procurement costs fluctuated greatly.
"Nobody knows how prices will develop in the coming weeks and months."
In addition, most municipal utilities and energy suppliers buy the gas for their customers in stages months to years in advance.
As a result, several providers have recently raised their tariffs for private households.
"The cheap gas that energy suppliers procured for their customers before the war will soon be sold," Birnbaum explained.
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Consumer advice centers and the Federal Network Agency are now hoping that more competitive gas and electricity tariffs will come onto the market again.
However, network agency boss Klaus Müller recently complained that the selection in comparison portals was not as large as in previous years.
According to Müller, many municipal utilities have withdrawn from the nationwide supply.
At Germany's largest energy supplier E.on, the number of customer inquiries has risen by around a third since the beginning of the energy crisis, according to CEO Birnbaum.
"Personally, I'm getting a lot more worried e-mails from customers." With the government's price brakes, which are intended to cap electricity and gas prices for at least 80 percent of every household's consumption this year, the need for advice has increased further.
According to E.on alone, it has hired around 500 additional employees in customer service in the past few weeks and months.
Birnbaum predicts that gas will remain expensive in Germany for the foreseeable future - with consequences for energy-intensive industries as well.
"Now that we are switching our supply from pipeline gas to liquefied natural gas by ship, ie LNG, our energy prices are no longer going back to pre-war levels," the manager said.
Germany as a business location is losing ground to the USA and Asia.
»The prosperity of Europe and especially of Germany is currently at stake.«
