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Household energy prices rose by 45 percent, electricity/gas are becoming expensive

Household energy prices rose by 45 percent, electricity/gas are becoming expensive

The prices for fuel, heating oil and gas have risen sharply, as have wood pellets and firewood. According to the Austrian Energy Agency, fuel cost more than 2 euros per liter for the first time in June and July. There is currently a slight easing here, a plateau could be reached in the short term. Electricity and gas are becoming more expensive for many providers.

Household energy prices rose 6.2 percent in June compared to May, according to the Energy Price Index (EPI) calculated by the Energy Agency. Energy prices were the central price driver of inflation. The increase in household energy prices accelerated somewhat again in June, up 45.1 percent; in May the year-on-year increase was around 38 percent.

“In June and July we observed fuel prices of more than two euros per liter at the pumps for the first time over a large area,” said Franz Angerer, Managing Director of the Energy Agency, according to the press release. The situation has eased somewhat at the moment and it seems as if fuel prices have reached a plateau, at least for the short term. Price increases for diesel, premium petrol and heating oil, as in June, are not to be expected for the time being.

“However, the situation is very different when it comes to electricity and natural gas for households.” Price changes on the wholesale markets are usually passed on to household customers with a delay. The electricity price index calculated by the energy agency was three times higher in June than in the previous year, and the gas price index was 424 percent higher. Accordingly, numerous energy suppliers have already raised prices or announced this, according to the energy agency.

In addition to the gas crisis, other factors also had an impact on the price of electricity: the drought in large parts of Europe reduced generation in the river power plants. In addition, many nuclear power plants in France are not in operation due to technical defects, others have to be throttled because the rivers required for cooling carry too little water or are too warm. “Lack of generation capacity is driving prices up further,” says Angerer. The high prices are a signal to diversify towards more wind power, photovoltaics, geothermal energy and at the same time more energy efficiency and energy saving.

According to the EPI, premium petrol was 60.5 percent more expensive in June than in the previous year and 13.9 percent more than in May 2022. A tankful (50 liters) cost more than 100 euros on average, so you had to spend around 40 euros more than in the previous year and around 14 euros more than in May. Diesel cost 65.3 percent more year-on-year and 7.0 percent more month-on-month. The price of heating oil more than doubled year-on-year (plus 109.6 percent) and rose by 9.3 percent compared to May. A typical filling of 3,000 liters costs significantly more than 4,500 euros in June.

The electricity price for household customers was still relatively stable on average in June (plus 0.2 percent year-on-year). According to the Energy Agency, the reason for this are relief measures by the government, such as the elimination of green electricity subsidy costs and the temporary reduction in electricity taxes. Different customer groups are affected very differently by price increases. Gas was on average 72.1 percent more expensive than in June last year. In a monthly comparison, electricity and gas saw a slight increase of 0.3 percent each.

District heating cost 16.6 percent more than a year earlier and was unchanged from May. Wood pellets were 52.7 percent more expensive than in June 2021 and cost 5.9 percent more than in May 2022. The price of firewood rose 33.9 percent year-on-year and 5.0 percent month-on-month.

Source: Nachrichten

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