For many households it is now time to save on electricity and heating: prices are rising significantly, and new contracts are sometimes 70 percent more expensive.
According to industry information, anyone who chooses a new electricity tariff in January pays an average of 12.5 percent more than the average for 2021.
The average of the electricity tariffs currently available for household customers with an annual consumption of 3500 kilowatt hours is 36.19 cents per kilowatt hour, the Federal Association of Energy and Water Industries (BDEW) reported on Thursday in Berlin. For comparison: in 2021 the average was 32.16 cents, in 2020 it was 31.81 cents.
Anyone who is currently signing up for a new gas tariff for a detached house, for example, pays an average of 12.21 cents per kilowatt hour for an annual consumption of 20,000 kilowatt hours, which is a full 72.9 percent more than the annual average for 2021. In 2021 the average was 7.06 cents, in 2020 at 5.97 cents. Almost half of all apartments in Germany are heated with gas.
Extreme price increases on electricity exchanges
As a reason for the increases in electricity and gas, the industry association stated higher procurement costs for utility companies due to extremely high wholesale prices. For example, prices on the futures market for electricity, where suppliers buy electricity over the long term, rose by more than 300 percent between January and December 2021. On the futures market for gas, prices even more than quintupled during this period.
“These extreme price increases on the electricity exchanges must be taken into account by the energy suppliers in their price calculations,” said the chair of the BDEW general management, Kerstin Andreae, according to the announcement. However, thanks to long-term procurement strategies, most utilities could cushion part of the price increase. Rising energy demand as a result of the global economic recovery in 2021 is believed to be a key reason for the rise in wholesale prices.
Andreae called for households to be relieved in view of the rising electricity and gas prices. “In particular, the tax and duty burden on energy must be reduced.”
Source From: 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.
