Consumer center complains: Higher prices for new customers – gas providers in court

The Bundesverband (VZBV) consumer center (VZBV) has sued for numerous those affected. The Energy Group Gasag had requested significantly higher prices for new customers during the energy crisis in December 2021 than for existing customers. The VZBV sees this as a discrimination.

The association submitted a model declaratory action to the Berlin Chamber Court, which had joined around 500 affected people until a few days before the start of negotiations. Whether the court will make a decision on the first day of the trial was initially open.

Numerous discounters terminated delivery contracts

Gasag defended the different treatment of new and existing customers with reference to the fact that the suppliers also had to pay significant higher prices for gas at the beginning of the energy crisis. As a result, numerous energy discounters terminated the contracts of their customers, who then automatically slipped into the basic supply of companies such as Gasag.

“In order to ensure the supply of these new customers during the gas price crisis from the end of 2021, the short -term procurement of additional gas quantities at the high price level was required,” said the company on request. However, this was not necessary for existing customers, since the amount of gas required for them was already secured at lower prices.

With its procedure, the Gasag “created a two-class system that in our opinion is inadmissible,” said VZBV consultant Hennig Fischer. As a result, new customers would have paid for hundreds of euros for the same performance.