The electricity provider increases the prices and trusts that I, the customer, will read my meter reading honestly. Should I do that or should I rather report a higher consumption of cheaper electricity? The consumer center has tips.
A few weeks ago I received a letter that many other people have also received from their electricity supplier recently: an electricity price increase. In my case, as of January 1st, 2023, the costs will rise from a good 30 cents to almost 50 cents per kilowatt hour and the basic price from under 11 to over 13 euros per month. A good week later, my energy supplier asks me to change my electricity meter on December 31st. read and report the status online. That’s when the thought came to me: Could it be worth reporting a meter reading that is too high to my supplier in order to pay more cheaper kilowatt hours and then have less expensive electricity on the bill when billed at the end of 2023? Or is my energy supplier then more likely to increase the monthly deductions so that I will pay them more money over the course of 2023 than I would have to?
Martin Brandis from the energy advisory service of the consumer center at the Federal Association of Consumer Organizations (VZBV) has a clear answer to this: “We generally do not advise cheating on energy suppliers – although it might go unnoticed within limits.” My case, that the meter reading period and the price increase coincided, was the exception anyway. “For most consumers, the regular billing takes place in the middle of the year. If it is due in August, for example, the supplier calculates one third of the consumption based on the price of the previous year and two thirds on the price of the current year.”
Tips for changing electricity supplier
In the event of higher electricity prices, consumers can seek legal advice as to whether the price increase is effective at all. If the energy supplier has given a price guarantee, for example, it is worth taking a look at the guarantee conditions, says Brandis. Whether an objection to the increase makes sense can also be clarified with legal advice.
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Brandis recommends that those who want to switch providers should cancel before the higher prices of the previous provider apply. “At the moment, the basic providers are the cheapest in many cases,” he says. “Ideally, the deductions are calculated in such a way that you don’t have to pay back the annual statement, nor do you get money back.” In this respect, it makes sense to increase the monthly deductions in view of the increased electricity prices. In this way, consumers avoid a large additional payment when the annual statement comes.
Meter reading determines deductions
With this knowledge, I will probably report the correct value of my electricity meter to my energy supplier. On the one hand, I don’t want to be annoyed by excessive discounts in the new year. On the other hand, it is also true that honesty is the best policy.
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Source: Stern
Jane Stock is a technology author, who has written for 24 Hours World. She writes about the latest in technology news and trends, and is always on the lookout for new and innovative ways to improve his audience’s experience.
