Electricity and gas prices are rising drastically: Consumers enjoy a special right - but only for a short time
Created: 01/12/2022, 05:49 PM
From: Marcus Giebel
Housing is getting more expensive - this is not new.
However, the price increases for electricity and gas are reaching a whole new dimension.
If you react quickly, you can save money.
Munich - Every year begins with many good resolutions, but they are often only implemented with great difficulty.
Many citizens shouldn't waste any time right now.
If the electricity and gas supplier has announced a price increase.
Which was the case with hundreds of providers, as the comparison portals "Verivox" and "Check24" found out.
And that despite the fact that the EEG surcharge fell from 6.5 cents per kilowatt hour to 3.7 cents on January 1st.
"The electricity suppliers do not pass the lower EEG surcharge on to their customers because the purchase prices on the electricity exchange have multiplied," explained "Verivox".
In addition, the charges for the power grids have risen by four percent on a nationwide average: "At over 35 cents per kilowatt hour, the price of electricity for households is higher than ever before."
Energy prices are rising: Consumers have special right of termination
The increased prices mean that affected customers have a special right of termination. This also applies if the additional costs are based on increased fees or levies. But very few people know about it. That means, regardless of the contract period, you can exit the contract immediately. This special right applies from the written notification of the price increase and then usually for two weeks.
However , at
finanztip
it says: “If you want to quit, then write the letter immediately.
Because some suppliers set a deadline in their general terms and conditions by when the special termination must be received. ”It is also pointed out here that a change of supplier can take up to three weeks.
It can happen that the customer in the meantime slips from the basic to the substitute supply, in which similar tariffs apply.
This is possible for a maximum of three months before a new basic service contract would begin.
Change electricity provider?
The local utility company may offer the cheapest package
The consumer has to search for the new supplier himself.
The portals mentioned above can help with this.
However, energy expert Udo Sieverding from the North Rhine-Westphalia consumer center speaks in the
Handelsblatt
of an "exceptional situation" in which a change of provider is not always worthwhile.
Therefore, before the termination, it should be checked whether there are cheaper offers.
It is also said that the usually more expensive municipal utilities have the cheapest tariff in some cities during these times.
Therefore, the search should be broadened anyway "because comparison portals often do not include the basic service tariffs in their search results".
So no effort should be spared to reduce costs if necessary.
Electricity prices are rising: Many consumers are likely to have a special right of termination from their provider.
© IMAGO / Blickwinkel
Rise in electricity and gas prices: a four-digit additional amount could be added to the model household
According to “Check24” research, the electricity price will rise by an average of almost 40 percent, while the gas price will rise by 34.5 percent.
For the so-called model budget, that would be total additional costs in the four-digit range for the year 2022.
“Consumers will have to expect a wave of price increases this winter,” warns Steffen Suttner, Managing Director Energy at “Check24”, in the
Handelsblatt
: “This is not least due to the increasing Co2 levy, on the other hand, the suppliers are giving customers increased purchasing costs and customers. "
Most recently, Finance Minister Christian Lindner had promised low-income citizens that he would give them financial support in view of the high energy prices.
This segment of the population is hit particularly hard by the development.
A change of provider should only be a drop in the ocean.
(mg)
