As of: February 2, 2024, 5:28 p.m
By: Lars-Eric Nievelstein
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A few weeks ago, industry associations warned of massive price increases.
Not much of this has reached customers so far.
The first suppliers are now giving the all-clear.
Hanover - After the federal government overturned federal subsidies for the electricity networks as a result of the budget dispute, the transmission line operators drastically increased network fees.
From 3.1 cents previously, consumers should now pay 6.4 cents per kilowatt hour.
Associations warned around the turn of the year that Germans could experience massive price increases.
Estimates put electricity costs up by up to a third.
A month later, not much of it has reached consumers.
Network fee per kilowatt hour (from 2024) |
6.4 cents (plus 3.3 cents) |
|---|---|
So much of the increase will reach the distribution networks |
1.1 cents per kilowatt hour |
Estimated additional burden for a household with 3,500 KWH consumption |
38 euros (per year) |
Electricity prices – but lower than expected?
It currently looks as if the jump in electricity prices will be significantly smaller than previously thought.
In some cases, the price increases should reach customers with a time delay, and in other cases they should even be canceled completely.
The German Press Agency found this out in a survey of utilities and municipal utilities throughout Germany.
A few weeks ago, industry associations warned of massive price increases.
Not much of this has reached customers so far.
The first suppliers are now giving the all-clear.
© IMAGO / Panama Pictures
A spokesman for Eon Energie Germany announced: “There is currently no change in the prices for our existing customers.” He did not rule out a possible later increase in prices, but there is no concrete decision on this yet.
Some providers even reduce electricity prices
The situation is different for Leipziger Stadtwerke, Enercity (Hannover) and SachsenEnergie.
They announced that they wanted to forego an increase in electricity prices completely.
N-Ergie from Nuremberg said the same thing.
They initially did not want to pass on the increased network fees.
“Accordingly, we are keeping our electricity prices stable,” said a company spokesman.
Some providers are even about to reduce their prices.
These include the Dortmund-based DEW21, which wants to introduce lower prices for basic services from March 1st, and the Eon subsidiary Süwag (price reduction from May 1st).
At RheinEnergie (Cologne) and Göttingen municipal utilities, however, electricity is set to become more expensive from April 1st.
They want to “pass the increased network fees on in full to the customers”.
Most of the providers surveyed did not provide the dpa with any precise information.
Too small a time frame for an increase
The reason for these partly vague answers is said to be the time frame in which the traffic light coalition's decision was made.
Because the government only canceled the subsidy for the electricity network in mid-December, the transmission line operators increased the network fees at the turn of the year.
In many cases it was simply not possible for providers to pass on the higher prices to customers.
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In the basic service, a period of six weeks is provided when it comes to price increases, the dpa quotes Kerstin Andreae, general manager of the Federal Association of the Energy and Water Industry.
For other contracts it would have to be at least one month.
In your opinion, price increases also depend on how the procurement costs are structured.
“Since the procurement strategies of energy suppliers are very different, in individual cases cheaper procurement costs may be able to partially compensate for the increased network fees.”
Hundreds of euros saved by switching electricity providers
Basically, as the IT service provider Enet has calculated, the higher network fees should have less of an impact than expected.
Of the 3.3 cents per kilowatt hour that the network operators have added, only 1.1 cents would reach the local distribution networks.
The increase for private customers should therefore be weaker.
A calculation example: A family household with 3,500 kilowatt hours of annual consumption would have an additional burden of around 38 euros per year.
In the wake of the energy crisis in 2022, many households switched to local basic suppliers for electricity and gas.
At that time, these often offered the cheapest tariffs.
Experts now advise consumers to check the contracts and change providers if necessary.
You may be able to save money with such a change.
According to the comparison portal Verivox, a three-person household with a consumption of 4,000 kilowatt hours pays around 1,760 on the national average.
The cheapest available new customer offer would instead be 1,030 euros.
Industry association calls for reduction in electricity tax
The Federal Association of the Energy and Water Industry (BDEW) recently warned that rising energy prices would inevitably affect consumers.
That is why the federal government should take the issue of electricity cost relief back into focus.
Despite the abolition of the EEG levy, the Federal Republic has the second highest amount of taxes, duties and levies in a European comparison.
One solution to this should be a reduction in electricity tax.
If this were reduced to the “European minimum”, it would offer an “effective and easy-to-implement option to reduce the burden on electricity prices”.
With material from dpa