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High energy prices in Germany: Thousands of customers canceled their electricity - The most important answers

2022-01-11T07:17:14.331Z


High energy prices in Germany: Thousands of customers canceled their electricity - The most important answers Created: 01/11/2022, 08:07 AM From: Matthias Schneider Rising electricity prices are currently making life difficult for many German consumers. © Florian Gaertner / Imago The stock exchange electricity prices have literally exploded and have driven many utilities to ruin. The rise in p


High energy prices in Germany: Thousands of customers canceled their electricity - The most important answers

Created: 01/11/2022, 08:07 AM

From: Matthias Schneider

Rising electricity prices are currently making life difficult for many German consumers.

© Florian Gaertner / Imago

The stock exchange electricity prices have literally exploded and have driven many utilities to ruin.

The rise in prices has long since reached consumers.

What electricity customers now need to know.

Munich - A total of 39 energy suppliers in Germany filed for bankruptcy last year, around twice as many as usual.

This is mostly due to the wholesale prices for electricity, which have multiplied over the course of the year.

Suppliers who had secured stable prices with forward transactions were able to protect themselves.

Low-cost sellers who had bet on short-term purchases footed the bill.

The result: Hundreds of thousands of consumers will have their electricity contracts terminated.

Energy supplier terminates electricity: is the termination lawful?

If the Federal Ministry for the Environment and Consumer Protection has its way, consumers do not have to accept the termination of an ongoing contract: A spokesman emphasized that customers have the right to “pay the same price for electricity” as they did with their first supplier made out ”.

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 in the replacement supply, which they would never have contractually agreed.

What happens after the termination by the electricity provider?

Because every household customer has a right to an energy supply, the basic supplier automatically steps in in these cases.

That is the energy supplier who has the most customers in a network section.

Household customers must be informed immediately in writing about the start of the replacement supply.

Since the consumption can be estimated during this time, it is advisable to read the meter readings.

The basic suppliers are obliged to provide the so-called substitute supply to customerless customers, as the Federal Network Agency indicates.

This is a legally prescribed emergency supply of electricity and gas.

The prices for the replacement supply may not exceed those of the basic supply.

Power canceled: What can consumers expect in the replacement supply?

The basic service tariff is usually not the cheapest of the supplier. Because providers currently have to procure the replacement supply at very high stock exchange prices, some energy suppliers have multiplied the basic supply prices for new customers, as the comparison

portal Check24

announced. According to this, basic electricity suppliers have increased the costs or announced this in 692 cases. This affects a good 4.3 million households with an average price increase of 65.1 percent. It is important here: Consumers have a special right of termination in the event of price increases.

In Upper Bavaria, on the other hand, most consumers are lucky: the two most important suppliers, E.on and Stadtwerke München, have not created any special tariffs for new customers, as confirmed by the companies in our newspaper.

The replacement supply lasts a maximum of three months, at the latest then a new contract - if necessary in the normal basic supply - must be concluded.

Meanwhile, there is a surprising U-turn at EU level with regard to renewable energies:

Electricity costs in 2022: How much does the basic supply cost?

"With our M-Strom Privat tariff, the kilowatt hour (kWh) in Munich costs 28.13 cents," explains Bettina Hess, spokeswoman for Stadtwerke München, "in the basic supply it is 29.39 cents." 54 cents, or 27.66 cents.


Hess explains the moderate increase with the public utility's procurement strategy: “We plan our purchases for the long term and with foresight. This has largely cushioned the current upheavals. And with our consistent expansion of renewable energy generation, we are sustainably reducing our dependence on fossil fuels and their supply chains. In 2020 we already had 65 percent green electricity in M-Strom. ”The increase is the first in three years.


Stranded electricity customers can also expect moderate prices at E.on.

The energy giant had not increased its prices in Bavaria in 2021 or at the turn of the year, as E.on spokesman Mario Leikop told our newspaper.

The labor price in the basic supply in Garching near Munich was 29.33 cents per kWh.

However, this price varies from region to region because the various network operators charge different network fees from the suppliers.

Electricity tariffs 2022: is it worth changing now?

Because of the special right of termination, consumers always have the option of avoiding a price increase by changing provider.

The consumer advice centers point out, however, that new customer contracts currently rarely bring savings due to the tense price situation.

Appropriate tariff calculators on the Internet can help when looking for a provider.

The exchange prices for electricity and gas rose by over 400 percent in some cases in 2021, and around 350,000 industrial jobs in Bavaria are dependent on inexpensive energy.

Source: merkur

All news articles on 2022-01-11

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