At the turn of the year: Hundreds of suppliers increase electricity and gas prices

Letters or even e-mails from energy suppliers are arriving in many households these days.

At the turn of the year: Hundreds of suppliers increase electricity and gas prices

Letters or even e-mails from energy suppliers are arriving in many households these days. According to a report, many of the companies are increasing their prices drastically at the turn of the year - by an average of 54 percent for gas, and the increase in electricity is even higher.

At the turn of the year, consumers have to be prepared for significantly higher electricity and gas prices. As the "Süddeutsche Zeitung" reports, basic suppliers will increase their tariffs in 300 cases nationwide as of January 1st. In its preliminary report, the newspaper refers to figures from the comparison portal Verivox. Electricity will be 61 percent more expensive on average, gas by 54 percent. Basic suppliers must announce such price changes six weeks in advance. The deadline for an adjustment on January 1 expires on Saturday.

According to Verivox, the gas costs for a family with a single-family house and a consumption of 20,000 kilowatt hours (kWh) increase by an average of 1247 euros per year. For electricity, the price for a three-person household with a consumption of 4000 kWh increases by an average of 784 euros. For some suppliers, however, the increase is even greater. At the turn of the year, for example, both the electricity and gas prices at Stadtwerke München doubled.

The reason for the strong price increase is, on the one hand, higher fees for network use, which suppliers have had to pay since this year. Above all, according to the SZ report, high procurement prices on the energy markets are behind it. Local suppliers often buy electricity and gas on a long-term basis. Many of these contracts are now gradually expiring. The companies will then have to pay significantly more for the energy than before: "The high price level in wholesale and the increasing network fees are gradually reaching all households," says Thorsten Storck, energy expert at Verivox, the SZ.

Storck pointed out that the plans for an electricity and gas price brake will relieve customers in the coming year. "The consequences of the energy price explosion are only cushioned by this," says the energy expert.

In 2023, 80 percent of electricity, gas and district heating consumption are to be capped above a certain price. With the current energy prices, a family saves an average of 926 euros a year according to calculations by Verivox, and 261 euros for electricity. In most cases, however, this does not offset the price increases by the utilities.