The Bundeskartellamt is now also examining suppliers of district heating to see whether they have set prices that are too high now that energy price brakes are in place. Test procedures had been initiated at several heat suppliers, the authority announced on Tuesday in Bonn. They had previously been identified as “conspicuous”. Fines are possible for violations. “Affected are well over a hundred heating networks of various sizes in different regions of Germany,” said the President of the Authority, Andreas Mundt. “As with natural gas, the proceedings initiated in the heating sector also cover around 15 percent of the relief amounts previously claimed for the first quarter of 2023.” Municipal utilities, regional suppliers and industrial providers would be checked.
The energy price brake caps the price per kilowatt hour for district heating household customers for 80 percent of the forecast demand to 9.5 cents. If the contract price is higher, the companies are reimbursed the difference by the state. Customers must pay the full price for consumption in excess of this. The basis for the tests are the prohibitions on abuse of the price brake laws. They ban prices that lead to unjustified government relief amounts. The Federal Cartel Office is already conducting such investigations against natural gas suppliers. “Further proceedings in the field of electricity are imminent,” announced the authority.