Status: 09/24/2021 5:35 a.m.
The electricity prices in Germany could soon rise again strongly – much to the annoyance of consumers and industry. Many see the federal government as responsible to stop the soaring.
Households in Germany have to adjust to rising electricity prices. “The procurement costs that energy suppliers have to pay for electricity have risen significantly in recent months,” said the head of the Federal Association of Energy and Water Management (BDEW), Kerstin Andreae, of the dpa news agency.
In the case of long-term deliveries, wholesale prices have doubled since the beginning of the year, and electricity purchased at short notice has even become three times as expensive. The increased procurement costs affect the end customer price with a delay.
Allocation as a driver?
The price for CO2 certificates has also more than doubled in the past 24 months. In addition, the high prices in gas wholesaling also influenced the price of electricity, since generation in gas-fired power plants is becoming more expensive. “These effects cannot currently be compensated for by the falling costs of renewable energies,” said Andreae.
According to the industry association BDEW, the main price driver is not the more expensive generation. “For every 100 euros in the electricity bill, more than 50 euros are state-caused,” said Andreae. Between 2010 and 2020, the burden on electricity customers from taxes, levies and surcharges increased by around 70 percent. “This is not only an enormous burden for consumers, but also hinders the competitiveness of the business location and inhibits environmentally friendly electricity-based applications such as electromobility or hydrogen.”
Possibly 63 euros additional costs per year
According to the comparison portal Verivox, the price for household electricity has already climbed to a record high. A kilowatt hour of electricity currently costs an average of 30.54 cents – more than ever before. A year ago the cost was 28.65 cents. In the past 12 months, electricity has thus increased in price by 6.6 percent. According to a survey for Verivox, three quarters of Germans are calling for the next federal government to take more stringent measures against the rise in prices. One in three (31 percent) would even stick to nuclear power – that’s 11 percentage points more than three years ago.
The Check24 portal reports that eight basic suppliers have already increased their electricity prices or announced increases. On average, the price increases amounted to 3.7 percent. For a model household with a consumption of 5000 kilowatt hours, this means additional costs of an average of 63 euros per year.
Holger Lösch, Deputy General Manager of the Federation of German Industries, said the current soaring electricity prices are causing massive damage to the industry. The next federal government must tackle the high electricity prices as one of its first tasks.