Gas prices - expert warns consumers: "Three to five times as high advance payments"

Created: 07/15/2022, 12:28 p.m

By: Lisa Mayerhofer

A gas meter hangs in the basement of a family home.

Experts warn of cost explosions.

(Archive image) © Jan Woitas/dpa-Zentralbild/dpa/Symbolbild

According to experts, consumers in Germany must be prepared for the fact that heating costs will multiply.

Berlin – The energy crisis in Germany could escalate dramatically next week.

If Russia does not turn on the gas tap again after the maintenance work on the Nord Stream 1 Baltic Sea pipeline, Germany will face a gas shortage - and a harsh winter is imminent.

Gas consumption in winter is about three to four times higher than in summer, mainly due to the use of heating and hot water.

Then comes the process heat in industry and the so-called material use, for example to produce fertilizers.

Experts warn of drastic gas price increases

In view of this situation, Klaus Müller, President of the Federal Network Agency, warns that heating costs could triple.

Experts warn of even higher price jumps.

"For those who are now getting their heating bills, the deductions are already doubling - and the consequences of the Ukraine war are not even taken into account," Müller told the editorial network Germany.

"From 2023, gas customers will have to prepare for the discounts to triple, at least."

The Federal Association of Consumer Centers calculates that a household with an average annual consumption of 20,000 kilowatt hours of gas will already have to reckon with additional costs of 1,000 to 2,000 euros this year.

"This amount can increase significantly, especially if the sharply rising gas exchange prices are passed directly to private households," said energy expert Thomas Engelke.

When asked who is currently paying 1,500 euros a year, Müller said that in the future it would be 4,500 euros: "Or even a bit more, I think that's absolutely realistic." On the stock exchanges, prices have increased sevenfold in some cases.

“It doesn’t all reach consumers immediately and in full, but at some point it has to be paid for.”

Steffen Suttner, managing director of energy at the comparison portal Check24, said that the energy prices would reach private gas customers with a delay.

If the quantities procured by the suppliers before the crisis were used up, they would have to buy on the stock exchange at the current record prices.

"The annual bill and thus the deductions could then increase by a factor of three to five." Müller recommended that gas customers voluntarily increase the deduction.

Gas crisis: Consumers should save energy to keep costs down

The comparison portal Verivox reported, with reference to representative surveys, that so far only one in three households has received an annual bill for gas.

A good half of them had to make an additional payment of an average of 227 euros.

In a good one in three households with gas heating, the deductions for the coming heating season have been increased by an average of 52 euros per month.

For new customers with a gas consumption of 20,000 kilowatt hours, the prices would have increased by an average of 159 percent or 1963 euros per year compared to the previous year.

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Due to the stock exchange prices, the pressure on gas prices is very great, explained the Federal Association of Energy and Water Industries.

“As part of their procurement strategies, suppliers do everything they can to reduce the burden on consumers.

The historically high wholesale prices will nevertheless have a strong impact on end customer prices.” It is important to save energy in order to keep costs down.