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High energy prices: What consumers can do when utilities become more expensive

2022-11-24T12:20:08.829Z


High energy prices: What consumers can do when utilities become more expensive Created: 11/24/2022 13:13 By: Lisa Mayerhofer Electricity will become more expensive for millions of Germans in the coming year despite the electricity price brake. What consumers should know now. Munich – More and more energy suppliers are announcing hefty price increases from January. The comparison portal Check24


High energy prices: What consumers can do when utilities become more expensive

Created: 11/24/2022 13:13

By: Lisa Mayerhofer

Electricity will become more expensive for millions of Germans in the coming year despite the electricity price brake.

What consumers should know now.

Munich – More and more energy suppliers are announcing hefty price increases from January.

The comparison portal Check24 counted 417 cases of electricity price increases in the basic supply on Monday.

Around six million households are affected.

For them, electricity will be 62.4 percent more expensive on average compared to September 30th.

That corresponds to additional costs of 986 euros with a consumption of 5000 kilowatt hours per year.

Although these prices will be capped by the electricity price brake from January, the government measure will not be able to fully absorb the additional costs for consumers.

Gas-fired power plants play a key role in determining the electricity exchange price

Check24 counted a total of 262 cases of increases in the basic service for gas prices.

Around 2.7 million households are affected.

Gas is therefore on average 55.6 percent more expensive.

That corresponds to additional costs of 1262 euros with an annual consumption of 20,000 kilowatt hours - without a gas price brake.

The wholesale gas price for short-term purchases (spot market) increased significantly in 2022 compared to 2021, the portal explained.

A megawatt hour of gas currently costs 110 euros, an annual average of 123 euros.

In 2021, prices averaged 47 euros per megawatt hour.

Gas-fired power plants are essential in the German electricity mix to balance out fluctuating renewable energies.

They thus play a key role in determining the electricity exchange price, explained Check24.

According to the portal, network usage fees for electricity and gas will also increase in the coming year.

Check24 explained that the rising network usage fees for gas are due to the reduced gas imports.

"Less gas flows through the network and the costs incurred are spread over fewer kilowatt hours."

An AC meter shows the current meter reading in kilowatt hours in a household.

Electricity prices rise sharply for many consumers at the turn of the year.

© Hauke-Christian Dittrich/dpa/symbol image

High energy prices: One-off payments and price controls should help

In view of the high energy prices, the state is trying to relieve the population with one-off payments and price controls.

Politicians have decided on several relief measures, such as a 300-euro energy price lump sum for taxable employees in September and a reduction in VAT on gas deliveries.

The next step: In December there is a one-off emergency aid for gas and district heating customers.

Then the state takes over a twelfth of the annual deductions.

However, amounts paid must be offset by energy suppliers in the next invoice.

The subsidy also applies to rental apartments.

The relief must then be passed on to tenants with the next annual service charge statement.

From next year there will also be an electricity and gas price brake for consumers.

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What do consumers have to do to benefit from the aid in December?

Consumers do not need to do anything for this.

According to Udo Sieverding from the consumer advice center in North Rhine-Westphalia, it is intended that the electricity and gas price brakes will directly reduce the monthly payment.

The suppliers should take care of the billing.

The December emergency aid for gas and heat should also end up with the customer automatically.

The suppliers calculated the relief according to the legal requirements and passed them on to their customers, says a spokesman for the Association of Municipal Companies (VKU).

The supplier is also applying for the necessary funds.

What if the energy bills can no longer be paid?

Anyone who needs a loan for energy debts can also turn to job centers and social welfare offices, said Christina Wallraf, energy expert at the North Rhine-Westphalia consumer center, to Die

Zeit

.

“But that only shifts the problem,” says Wallraf.

The consumer advocate advises anyone who suffers from permanently high energy costs as a low-income earner.

Even with a high one-off additional payment, it is possible to apply for support exclusively for this month. 

High energy prices: When it makes sense to change providers

Of course, consumers also have the option of switching providers.

It is true that there have only been a few offers on the energy market in recent months.

But that seems to be changing now.

"The mood is a little better than in spring, the market is at least picking up a bit," says Christina Wallraf of the newspaper

Zeit

.

A step-by-step guide shows how to switch providers:

1st step: Check your own provider

"The energy market has completely turned inside out," says Sylvia Scheibenberger from the consumer advice center in Baden-Württemberg in Ulm.

The recommendation that regularly changing providers saves money no longer applies.

In the event of a price increase, one should always check whether the provider is not competitive after all, said Scheibenberger.

She advises comparing the prices of different providers on the Internet using comparison portals such as Check24 and Verivox.

The most important thing: the energy price per kilowatt hour.

"If the utility announces that it is increasing the prices, then it has to list the old and the new price in a table," says Scheibenberger.

In this way, consumers could already see how prices are changing.

They could then compare the new working price with the costs of other providers using a comparison portal on the Internet.

The second key figure is the basic price that is due for the connection.

It can be interesting for those who already save a lot of energy.

"If I use little energy, a high basic price is rather disadvantageous," says Scheibenberger.

2nd step: Check the basic supply tariff

"If you want to conclude a new supply contract, the prices for basic electricity and gas supply are currently lower than the prices for special contracts," says Rico Dulinski from the Brandenburg consumer center in Potsdam.

But not every basic supplier is represented with its basic tariff in common comparison portals.

"To be on the safe side, you can simply enter the keyword 'basic provider' and the postal code in the search engine," says Hermann-Josef Tenhagen, editor-in-chief of the non-profit consumer

portal Finanztip

in Berlin.

The providers would have to publish data sheets with their prices on their website.

The basic service tariff is often called “Basic” or “Comfort”.

3rd step: Select term

The term of the contract should be made dependent on the offer.

If the price of a long-term contract with a fixed price is significantly higher than offers with a shorter term, Dulinski advises short contracts.

However, if customers want to secure price security for a certain period of time and the price offered is only slightly above the current price of the basic service, "there is nothing to be said against a contract with a long commitment and corresponding price fixing," says the consumer advocate.

4th step: Cancel the old provider

"A basic service contract can be terminated at any time with a notice period of 14 days," says Dulinski.

If you have a special contract, you can change at the end of the term.

Then it is possible, for example via comparison portals, to instruct the new provider to switch.

"But if you want to make use of the special right of termination - for example in the event of a price increase - you can only do it yourself," says Scheibenberger.

She recommends a registered letter to the provider.

Step 5: How to solve conflicts

In principle, switching to basic care is possible without any problems, explains Rico Dulinski.

"But we are also aware of cases in which customers were initially supplied as part of the expensive replacement supply." Customers should therefore urge the energy supplier to make the appropriate classification.

In the event of a dispute, the energy arbitration board in Berlin can be a good point of contact.

(lma/dpa)

Source: merkur

All news articles on 2022-11-24

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