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Gas prices: "The market is out of control"

2022-09-15T06:03:17.326Z


The gas price has climbed to new record highs almost every day. Even if it has been going down again in the last few days, the gas price for customers of the regional supplier "17er Oberlandenergie" will double within just 16 months.


The gas price has climbed to new record highs almost every day.

Even if it has been going down again in the last few days, the gas price for customers of the regional supplier "17er Oberlandenergie" will double within just 16 months.

District – The gas price on the futures market has increased fifteenfold since July last year.

The customers of the Peissenberger municipal utilities, the "17er Oberlandenergie" or the Stadtwerke Weilheim still feel relatively little of this.

This is due to the fact that the regional energy suppliers buy gas – and also electricity – years in advance, mostly in small tranches.

Gas prices: Price jumps will only affect households in the medium term

In contrast to large customers, these price jumps will only affect households in Germany in the medium term if prices do not go back down again.

What is already noticeable from October 1st is, among other things, the gas procurement levy of the federal government.

This levy and two others, the gas storage levy and the balancing levy, should make the kilowatt hour more expensive by four cents.

The regional suppliers pass these additional costs on 1:1 to their customers.

From October, a household with a consumption of 18,000 kWh (equivalent to four people in a small single-family house) who concludes a new gas contract with "17er Oberlandenergie" will pay 4,615 euros per year.

An existing customer around 2100 euros.

Anyone who lives as a couple in an apartment of around 65 square meters and for.

October 1 customer at the "17er Oberlandenergie" will have to reckon with 2100 euros per year, an existing customer then with around 1000 euros.

Existing customers currently pay around 700 euros (with 8,000 kWh annual consumption) or 1,450 euros (18,000 kWh) until the end of September.

The costs at Stadtwerke Weilheim are a little higher, an existing customer with 18,000 kWh consumption, for example, pays around 2170 euros a year.

There are no offers for new customers.

"We ask for your understanding that we are currently unable to offer you any gas products due to the historically unique market situation," says the company's website.

Both "17er Oberlandenergie" and Stadtwerke each have around 2,000 gas customers.

(By the way: everything from the region is now also available in our regular Schongau newsletter.)

Gas prices: New customers pay 5,255 euros per year from October — more than twice as much as existing customers

The municipal works in Peißenberg supply around 300 customers, and the “gas” branch has only existed for around two years.

The jump in price for old and new customers is similar to that of the competition: with a consumption of 18,000 kWh, a new customer pays 5,255 euros per year from October 1, and existing customers pay 2,285 euros.

A two-person household with a consumption of 8000 kWh as a new customer will have to reckon with 2422 euros from October 1st, for an existing customer it is less than half at 1102 euros, but still almost 300 euros above the currently valid tariff.

For Thomas Feistl, the managing director of "17er Oberlandenergie", the gas prices on the futures market have recently been "purely fantasy prices" that have nothing to do with the real value of the goods.

He would like government intervention.

"The market is out of control."

Manuel Schumnik, department head at the municipal utility, agrees: For his company, the primary concern is to guarantee security of supply for customers: "Services of general interest instead of maximizing profits." That's why no admissions freeze was ordered this year.

There was that at the “17er Oberlandenergie” at the beginning of the year.

"We were literally overrun," says Feistl.

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Gas prices: crisis leads to considerable extra work

All three companies are still on sound financial footing, as they emphasize.

According to Schumnik, the gas and electricity crisis is leading to a great deal of extra work, for example because constant recalculations are necessary.

In addition, due to the higher prices, there is an increased risk that customers will no longer be able to pay their bills.

All three companies do not receive any state subsidies either, because they are not gas importers, but buy gas and electricity in advance on corresponding exchanges and then resell them to their customers.

Both Feistl and Schumnik report calls from concerned customers, but there were no insults.

"People know that we are not responsible for this crisis," says Feistl.

The situation is still stressful, says Schumnik and tells the story of an acquaintance: He recently received a letter from a large energy supplier;

in it he announces a price increase: instead of 100 euros per month, the customer should now pay 1000 euros.

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Source: merkur

All news articles on 2022-09-15

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