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Pipeline for the Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline in Lubmin:
Not only the dispute over the new pipeline is contributing to higher gas prices
Photo: TOBIAS SCHWARZ / AFP
Energy costs are the price drivers of the current high inflation in Germany - in December alone gas and electricity were 18.3 percent more expensive than in the same month last year.
Not only private consumers suffer from this, but also companies.
Especially in the energy-intensive sectors, such as the steel or chemical industry, the high costs cause problems. In some companies, production has already been cut back.
In addition, the industry is also affected, which at first glance should benefit from higher prices: the providers of electricity and gas themselves. However, because of the often long contract terms, they cannot pass on the exorbitantly rising purchase prices to their customers.
The electricity and natural gas supplier
Otima Energie
was one of the first companies to meet here .
In October 2021, the Neuenhagen company had to file for bankruptcy near Berlin.
More than 400 customers, mainly public clients and private companies, were affected.
Other smaller energy suppliers were also no longer able to withstand the pressure, the list of failures with names such as
Lition Energie or Smiling Green Energy
is growing.
If the supplier goes bankrupt, the customer slips into the usually more expensive "replacement supply"
"This explosion in wholesale prices for electricity and gas has never been seen before and presents energy suppliers with completely new challenges," reports Lundquist Neubauer, energy expert at Verivox: "If the situation in wholesale remains so tense, other suppliers could get into economic difficulties - especially Suppliers who have not made long-term purchases and now have to procure expensive energy in the short term. "
Consumer advocates, however, warn customers against terminating contracts and instead recommend that the fixed and often still favorable conditions be retained in any case for the time being.
Should a supplier file for bankruptcy, both private customers and companies are not suddenly without an energy supply, but automatically slip into the "replacement supply" and continue to be supplied with gas or electricity, even if then mostly at higher prices.
Higher tariffs for new customers
Switching providers is currently difficult.
"So far, new customers have been in great demand, but the very high procurement prices mean that they are apparently no longer lucrative for some suppliers," says Neubauer.
He has observed that, as a result, more and more large basic providers are offering tariffs for existing customers and, in addition, significantly higher tariffs for new customers.
Large corporations are more resilient
The large utilities also have other options for securing their business.
Last week , the Düsseldorf group
Uniper
announced that it now has two additional credit lines worth billions of euros, including with the state-owned KfW Bank.
In this way, the company would like to become more resistant to the sometimes extreme price developments.
The rival
RWE
has also announced that it has taken precautions with its credit lines and other financing instruments in order to arm itself against further jumps in the costs of electricity and gas.
Corporations such as Uniper or RWE often use hedging transactions and then have to make advance payments in the event of high price fluctuations.
Relaxation only in spring?
A far-reaching calming of the situation on the energy markets is not in sight.
Furthermore, there is strong demand for low storage levels, and the effect of CO2 pricing is also becoming increasingly noticeable.
Added to this are the fear of a cold winter, ongoing speculation about Russia's future delivery behavior and uncertainties about the commissioning of the Baltic Sea gas pipeline Nord Stream II.
"We are therefore assuming that prices will remain at this high level in the short term," says Lundquist Neubauer from the Verivox price portal.
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