Electricity and gas prices collapse for new customers in the energy crisis

Created: 01/13/2023, 16:47

By: Johannes Nuss

In the past, the basic energy supply was often the cheapest way to get gas or electricity.

In the meantime, however, the prices for new customers are falling again.

© Bernd Weißbrod/dpa/Archive

During the energy crisis, basic supply was often the cheapest option for obtaining gas and electricity.

Now the tide is turning again.

Bonn/Heidelberg – During the energy crisis, the basic supply of gas and electricity was often the cheapest option for consumers, but the signs are slowly returning to normal when it comes to obtaining energy.

has found that it is now often cheaper for new customers to purchase gas and electricity

.

Anyone who has switched to the basic supply of their electricity and gas provider in the past few months should explore the market and compare gas and electricity tariffs.

There is significant savings potential.

Energy crisis: Electricity and gas prices collapse for new customers - switching providers can be worthwhile

While a kilowatt hour of gas for new customers cost an average of around 40 cents at the beginning of September, it is currently around 14.3 cents.

This corresponds to a decrease of 64 percent.

The opposite trend can be observed in the basic gas supply.

During the same period, prices rose on average from 12.7 to 17.7 cents per kWh.

That is an increase of 39 percent.

So if you change your gas or electricity provider, you can save a lot of money as a new customer.

A kilowatt hour of electricity for new customers still cost 56 cents on average nationwide in mid-October, currently it is 42.7 cents and thus 24 percent less.

Basic electricity supply rose in price by 27 percent in the same period – from 36.8 to 46.6 cents per kWh.

Added to this are the gas and electricity price brakes.

"In 2022 the energy market was upside down, the usually expensive local basic supply was almost always cheaper than the new customer tariffs of national suppliers.

Now the relationship is reversed again,” says Thorsten Storck, energy expert at

.

"Thanks to cheaper tariffs for new customers, households can save again by switching depending on the region and consumption."

Electricity and gas prices collapse for new customers in the energy crisis - switching providers can be worthwhile

A family with a power consumption of 4000 kilowatt hours who switches from the basic supply to the cheapest provider currently saves an average of 154 euros a year.

A household that heats with gas can reduce its annual bill by an average of 680 euros.

Taking into account the price brakes that will take effect in 2023, the savings for electricity still amount to 31 euros and for gas to 136 euros.

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The price brakes for electricity and gas are initially limited to December 31, 2023.

“If the price brakes are not extended, every kilowatt hour consumed in the coming year will cost the regular contract price again.

This is another reason why it will be important for consumers this year to choose the cheapest possible tariff,” says Thorsten Storck.

The mood on the energy markets is currently cautiously optimistic.

Given the mild weather, both wholesale gas and electricity prices have fallen significantly compared to 2022 levels.

Energy crisis: Electricity and gas prices collapse for new customers - switching providers can be worthwhile

The price for one megawatt hour of electricity for delivery in the coming year was around 180 euros on the electricity exchange.

This is significantly cheaper than in September, when more than 500 euros per megawatt hour was required.

The price level nevertheless remains historically high.

For comparison: Before the start of the energy crisis, the long-term average prices were between 35 and 55 euros per megawatt hour.

The situation is similar with gas.

The megawatt hour is currently around 70 euros on the spot markets and thus significantly lower than last summer, when the gas price was at times 350 euros per megawatt hour.

But here, too, the pre-crisis level is a long way off.

On a long-term average, prices ranged between 10 and 25 euros per megawatt hour.

It is more than unlikely that these prices will ever be reached again.