Gas tariffs 45 percent cheaper: Is it worth changing contracts now?

Created: 2023-01-09 18:57

By: Matthew Schneider

Energy markets in focus - every two weeks on Merkur.de © Michael Kappeler

Good news for gas customers: prices have fallen significantly.

Electricity, heating oil and pellets tend to move sideways.

A quiet start to an uncertain year.

Munich – In view of the mild turn of the year, the markets for electricity and gas have calmed down significantly.

However, several swords of Damocles are hanging over oil prices.

Gas price: tariffs for new customers are cheaper than they have been for a long time

The new customer tariffs for natural gas are cheaper than they have been for a long time.

On the national average, the cheapest contracts were available for 12.9 cents per kilowatt hour, cheaper than they had been for months.

This is reported by the comparison portal Verivox.

In mid-December it was still 20 cents, so changing contracts has now become much more attractive.

This is largely due to wholesale prices, which are on the decline thanks to mild temperatures and the new German liquefied gas terminal.

This is good news for those who are not particularly liquid: because the state cap of 12 cents only applies from March and is then paid out retrospectively until January.

Important when choosing a tariff: In contrast to the working price, the basic amount is not capped, so it is worth choosing a cheap one here.

It is questionable whether it is worth speculating that prices will continue to fall: Although there is a stable downward trend in prices, January is already exceptionally warm.

It will probably get colder rather than warmer – and therefore more expensive.

On the supply side, experts do not expect any appreciable relaxation on the market for the current year.

A comparison with the East Asian competitor market shows that the situation in Europe is unusual. For the first time since the beginning of the war, prices here are higher than in Europe.

Wholesale electricity prices have fallen: consumer prices have hardly changed

Along with the gas prices, wholesale electricity prices have also plummeted from a high level: they have fallen by a good 28 percent since mid-December.

However, consumer prices are only reacting hesitantly. Yesterday the national average was 41.8 cents per kilowatt hour, no less than eight percent less than in mid-December.

Apparently the low-cost dealers, who often only buy what they need during the contract period, are expecting wholesale prices to rise again soon.

This shows that wholesale prices do not always translate one-to-one to consumer prices.

Here, too, the following applies when choosing a tariff: It is essential to choose a low basic fee and not make any advance payments in order to minimize damage in the event of the provider’s insolvency.

Heating oil prices could rise again

Heating oil prices have been moving sideways since mid-December – parallel to crude oil prices.

A liter of heating oil is currently available for around 1.15 euros on average across Germany, which is slightly cheaper than in recent weeks.

However, Commerzbank experts expect that prices will soon rise again over the course of the year due to the oil embargo against Russia, the (probably) revitalizing economy in China and the revenue interests of the Opec+ producer group.

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Wood pellet prices unchanged

The picture on the Bavarian pellet market has not changed: the barrel is still available for just under 500 euros.

Energy imports significantly cheaper in November

The noticeable relief is also statistically tangible: the import prices for energy fell sharply in November compared to the previous month.

Energy imports fell by 16.1 percent, as the Federal Statistical Office announced on Wednesday.

This resulted in a 4.5 percent drop in import prices across the board.

Compared to the same month last year, imported energy was 37.9 percent more expensive.

The year-on-year increase in the price of imports as a whole slowed down significantly to 14.5 percent.

The significant discounts in December have not yet been priced in here.

With material from the AFP