Heating season: Slight relaxation in household energy prices

Households in Germany can currently heat slightly more cheaply than a year ago. The prices for household energy fell by an average of 4.0 percent in September, as reported by the Federal Statistical Office. However, this does not apply equally to all forms of heating: While light heating oil is significantly cheaper than a year ago, with a decrease of 17.9 percent, consumers have to pay 31.8 percent more for district heating, which is particularly common in large cities. Hardly anything has happened with the most common energy source, gas, which was 1.9 percent cheaper. Electricity costs on average 4.0 percent less than in September 2023.

As a result of the Russian attack on Ukraine, fossil fuels in particular became significantly more expensive between 2020 and 2023. Specifically, light heating oil (+107.3 percent) and natural gas (+96.7 percent) ended up being around twice as expensive as in 2020. Three quarters of the apartments are heated with these energy sources. The price for district heating only increased 38.5 percent during this time and electricity was 36.1 percent more expensive than in 2020 before the start of the energy crisis. The costs of energy sources have significantly increased consumer prices, which have risen by 16.7 percent.

As a result, the proportion of households in Germany who say they can no longer heat their homes adequately for cost reasons has grown. According to the Federal Office, 8.2 percent of the population said this last year, after 6.7 percent the year before. Single parents with their children (15.5 percent), large families with at least three children (9.8 percent) and people living alone (9.5 percent) are particularly often affected. This is below the average of 10.6 percent in the EU because many people, especially in southern Europe, cannot heat adequately.