As of: February 26, 2024, 9:15 p.m
By: Andreas Höß
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Heating costs are one of the biggest cost drivers, as an analysis by Verivox shows.
© Michael Gstettenbauer/Imago
A Verivox analysis shows that Germans are feeling the impact of high energy prices on their wallets.
There was an explosion in prices, especially for fossil energies such as oil, gas, diesel and gasoline.
Berlin – Energy has become significantly more expensive for consumers over the past three years.
A model household with three people currently pays 5,306 euros per year for oil, gas, fuel and electricity.
That is 1,534 euros more than in February 2021. This emerges from an evaluation by the Berlin comparison portal Verivox, which our newspaper has available and which the Funke media group also reported on.
Price explosion due to war in Ukraine
The energy crisis began after the end of the Covid pandemic in 2021 and further worsened after Russia's attack on Ukraine in February 2022.
Because Europe imposed sanctions against Russia and the Kremlin largely turned off the gas supply to Germany in return, energy prices reached their high in October 2022.
Since then, according to Verivox, they have fallen by a third again, but German citizens still have 41 percent higher energy costs today than in February 2021. “Electricity, gas, heating oil and fuel: three years after the start of the energy crisis, energy is still significantly more expensive than before,” confirms Thorsten Storck from Verivox.
German households are still “heavily burdened by high energy costs.”
The calculation was for a household with three people with a heat requirement of 20,000 kilowatt hours, which corresponds to the same amount of gas or 2000 liters of heating oil.
In addition, there are 4,000 kilowatt hours of electricity and fuel for a distance of 13,300 kilometers per year.
Heating and refueling are particularly stressful
Heating is particularly stressful.
The heating oil for the model household costs 2,088 euros per year, 64 percent or 818 euros more than in 2021. For gas, the increase was 75 percent or 871 euros.
Costs of 2033 euros were invested here annually.
Because more households heat with gas than with oil, an average surcharge of 71 percent was included in the overall bill.
Despite the shutdown of the nuclear power plants, the surcharge for electricity was significantly more moderate at 22 percent.
It results, among other things, from increased fees for the electricity networks as a result of the energy transition and higher procurement costs for suppliers.
Last but not least, generating electricity from gas has become more cost-intensive.
Overall, according to Verivox, the electricity bill for the model household rose from 1,171 to 1,425 euros per year.
Commuters are currently also suffering at the gas station.
Diesel, which often came from Russia until 2022, has become 39 percent more expensive.
© Manfred Segerer/IMAGO
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Another cost: refueling.
The comparison portal has calculated a little over 1,800 euros per year, around 30 percent more in 2021. For commuters, however, a visit to the gas pump could often be even more painful.
Firstly, the surcharge for diesel was 39 percent higher than for petrol (27 percent) and many commuters drive with diesel.
Secondly, Verivox expects an average distance of 13,300 kilometers per household, but this is often higher for commuters.
Changing provider can be worthwhile
Energy is expensive, “but there has been lively competition in the market for several months,” says Thorsten Storck from Verivox.
He recommends comparing tariffs and switching providers if possible.
Ramona Pop from the Federal Association of Consumer Organizations sees it similarly.
“Since many new contracts for electricity and gas are currently cheaper, consumers should check whether they can switch to a good and cheaper provider,” she told the Funke media group, which first reported on the analysis.