BERLIN (dpa-AFX) - Starting in January, many consumers on basic supply tariffs will pay significantly less for electricity and gas. This is the result of an analysis by the comparison portal Verivox of price changes already announced for the turn of the year. The findings were made available in advance to the German Press Agency dpa.
How are electricity prices changing?
According to Verivox, regional basic suppliers have so far announced 113 price reductions averaging 9 percent for the new year. For an annual consumption of 4,000 kilowatt hours, this equates to a relief of around EUR161 per year. "Around 2.2 million households in Germany still on local basic electricity supply will benefit from these price cuts." However, not all prices are dropping: the portal also recorded 4 electricity price increases at the turn of the year, averaging 1 percent.
Among the companies reducing prices is the municipal utility Rheinenergie in Cologne. The company attributes the price cut to falling procurement costs and federal subsidies for grid charges. These subsidies are passed on to customers in full and without delay, as Rheinenergie CEO Andreas Feicht recently explained. From January, the kilowatt hour in Cologne will cost 31.48 cents, about 12 percent less than before.
In Mannheim, energy provider MVV is also lowering basic electricity supply prices, by nearly 11 percent to 34.82 cents per kilowatt hour.
"The government subsidy for electricity grid charges is leading to lower electricity prices for many households," said Verivox energy expert Thorsten Storck. However, not everyone will benefit from the relief, as network charges are not falling everywhere and suppliers are not required to pass on the reductions directly to their customers.
How are gas prices changing?
Verivox has so far registered 69 gas price reductions by basic suppliers, averaging 7 percent. According to the portal's projections, around 700,000 households will benefit. "This means heating costs for a single-family home with an annual consumption of 20,000 kilowatt hours will drop by around EUR183 per year." Ten suppliers have announced increases averaging 6 percent.
The currently stable wholesale prices for gas have given gas suppliers, who are still charging very high prices, room to lower prices, Storck explained. "Although using the gas networks will become more expensive next year, the abolition of the gas storage levy will mathematically offset these additional costs."
Rheinenergie is also lowering gas prices at the turn of the year, by around eight percent to 12.34 cents per kilowatt hour. The main reason cited by the supplier is lower procurement costs. The Munich municipal utility is also reducing prices by eight percent. In Mannheim, end customer natural gas prices will remain unchanged at the turn of the year.
What does basic supply mean?
Households are supplied with electricity and gas under the basic supply scheme if they have not signed a specific contract with a supplier. The basic supplier is always the energy provider that supplies the majority of households in a network area with electricity or gas. According to Verivox, there are around 800 basic electricity suppliers and 700 basic gas suppliers nationwide.
Price changes for these tariffs must be announced at least six weeks in advance. According to the Federal Network Agency, about a quarter of households still receive electricity on a basic supply tariff, and about a fifth for gas. According to the consumer advice center, basic supply contracts can be terminated at any time with two weeks' notice. It should be noted that local basic suppliers also offer other tariffs, which are often cheaper./tob/DP/he
