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Gas price brake is coming: What gas customers need to know now

2023-02-27T08:29:02.920Z


The gas price brake will come into effect on March 1, 2023 to cushion the high gas prices. The price brake will then apply retrospectively from January. We explain what the gas price brake means for customers.


The gas price brake will come into effect on March 1, 2023 to cushion the high gas prices.

The price brake will then apply retrospectively from January.

We explain what the gas price brake means for customers.

Berlin – From March 1, 2023 to April 30, 2024, the gas price brake should bring relief.

It comes into force to protect consumers from further increases in gas prices.

However, the gas price brake does not mean that gas prices will fall drastically.

Gas will remain expensive in 2023.

Gas price brake simply explained: Gas prices capped at 12 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh).

With the gas price brake, a price limit will be set retrospectively from January 2023 to April 2024 on a large part of gas consumption.

For private individuals, small and medium-sized companies with a consumption of up to 1.5 million kWh per year, 80 percent of consumption is limited to 12 cents per kWh.

The remaining 20 percent cost the price agreed in the contract.

District heating is also capped at 9.5 cents per kWh for 80 percent.

The remaining 20 percent cost the price agreed in the contract.

In concrete terms, this means: The basic consumption for gas will be available at a guaranteed price of a maximum of 12 cents/kWh or 9.5 cents/kWh for district heating.

The remaining 20 percent may also be more expensive - but this should encourage consumers to save energy.

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The gas price brake is coming: what customers need to know now.

© Frank Rumpenhorst/dpa/symbol picture

Gas prices: 12 cents/kWh is more expensive than usual

From the current perspective, 12 cents/kWh may sound like a good price.

But that is much more expensive for gas than it was a year and a half ago.

In the summer of 2021, before energy prices started to rise, new customers typically paid 5 or 6 cents/kWh for gas.

In February 2022, shortly before the start of the Ukraine war, the gas price was 12 to 13 cents/kWh.

New customers can currently get gas contracts for 11 to 12 cents/kWh again.

In the summer of 2022, however, when there was great concern that we would experience a gas shortage in the winter, the situation was very different.

Gas prices peaked at the beginning of September, when new customers got gas for 40 cents/kWh.

As a reaction to these conditions, the federal government decided to curb prices with the gas price brake.

Gas price brake: Relief directly on the monthly payment

The relief from the gas price brake will be processed directly with the suppliers from March 1st.

So consumers don't really have to do anything else.

However, you should receive a monthly credit for the relief amount starting in March.

If you then use 20 or even 30 percent less gas over the entire year than in the previous year, customers get extra money back.

Because the kWh saved are multiplied by the contract price.

Calculation example: Two-person household

A two-person household consumes 9000 kWh of gas per year.

Until the end of December 2022, they purchased gas for 10 cents/kWh.

The monthly payment was 75 euros.

The contract price was adjusted at the end of 2022, now they pay 25 cents/kWh.

Your discount increases to 188 euros.

The gas price brake will take effect from March 2023, so you get 80 percent of the consumption for 12 cents/kWh.

This reduces your discount to 90 euros per month.

They get the 98 euros as a credit from the supplier.

So the gas is still more expensive than before the contract price adjustment, but there is a direct relief.

But if the couple manages to use at least 20 percent less gas in 2023 than the year before, they could make even more money back.

If they only use 7,200 kWh, the supplier owes them the money.

The money is then offset against the contract price, i.e. with the 25 cents/kWh.

They get 450 euros back from the gas supplier.

If you save 30 percent, you even get 675 euros back.

Since the gas price brake also applies retrospectively to January and February from March, consumers must receive triple the relief amount for the first time.

From the calculation example above, this means that the household would receive a credit of 294 euros (instead of 98 euros) in March.

District heating: Relief from the heat price brake works the same way

Basically, the heat price brake works in exactly the same way as the gas price brake.

From March, district heating customers will receive a credit for the relief amount, so they will pay less.

Only the price changes: district heating customers only pay 9.5 cents/kWh for 80 percent of their consumption.

Calculation example: Two-person household

A two-person household uses district heating and consumes 9,000 kWh per year.

Until the end of December 2022, they purchased district heating for 8 cents/kWh.

The monthly payment was 60 euros.

The contract price was adjusted at the end of 2022, now they pay 12 cents/kWh.

Your discount increases to 90 euros.

From March 2023, the heat price brake will take effect, so you get 80 percent of the consumption for 9.5 cents/kWh.

This reduces your discount to 71.25 euros per month.

They get the 18.75 euros as a credit from the provider.

District heating is therefore still more expensive than before the contract price was adjusted, but there is a direct relief.

But if the couple manages to use at least 20 percent less heat in 2023 than in the previous year, they could get even more money back.

If they only use 7,200 kWh, the supplier owes them the money back.

The money is then offset against the contract price, i.e. with the 12 cents/kWh.

They get 216 euros back from the gas supplier.

If you save 30 percent, you even get back 324 euros.

How do consumers find out how high the relief amount is?

Consumers must be informed by their suppliers by March 1st.

The letter must then state how high the current contract price is and how high the monthly payment is.

Consumers can then calculate their savings from this.

List of rubrics: © Frank Rumpenhorst/dpa/Symbolbild

Source: merkur

All news articles on 2023-02-27

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