Energy costs
Consumers pay less for electricity and gas
The energy prices for consumers have recently decreased. But compared to the times before the Ukraine War, immense climbs remain. The state also drives the costs for private households.
Gas and electricity have become cheaper for consumers, but the prices remain high in terms of level before the Ukraine War. In the first half of the year, private households paid an average of 12.13 cents per kilowatt hour of natural gas or 1.2 percent less than in the second half of 2024, as the Federal Statistical Office in Wiesbaden announced.
Measured last year, the first half of 2024, prices rose by 2.2 percent. Compared to the second half of 2021 – before the Russian attack on Ukraine and the energy crisis – gas prices for private households were even more than three quarters (77.6 percent) higher.
Significant declines in electricity
The prices have also dropped at short notice for electricity. In the first half of the year, consumers paid an average of 39.92 cents per kilowatt hour – 3.1 percent less than in the second half of 2024 and 2.7 percent less than a year earlier. Compared to the level before the Ukraine War, the prices were still a good fifth (21.4 percent) higher.
Loading from taxes and levies increased
State costs also drive prices, as the statistics further show. The burden of taxes, levies and levies for private gas customers increased by 5.8 percent on the second half of 2024. The costs of energy and sales for private households, on the other hand, drop by 9.2 percent at the year.
In the case of electricity, taxes, levies and levies for households grew by 7.2 percent measured on the previous year. However, private electricity studies for energy and sales paid an average of almost ten percent less in the first half of the year, which led to a lower total price for electricity.
Federal government launches relief
The Federal Government recently launched relief for the electricity price. This is how the network charges should fall. In contrast, there should be relief for industry as well as agriculture and forestry, but not for consumers. In the case of gas, consumers are released from the gas storage levy from 2026.
From the economy there are always demands to press the high energy costs in Germany, for example with an industrial current price. For companies and authorities, energy costs are significantly lower than for private households, according to statistics. They paid an average of 6.75 cents per kilowatt hour in the first half of the year without VAT and other deductible taxes and 19.33 cents for electricity – there is only around half as much as private consumers.
dpa
Source: Stern
