Status: 08/24/2021 1:46 p.m.
Energy is becoming more and more expensive: Consumers in Germany have to pay as much for gas as they did in 2016. There are various reasons why prices will continue to rise.
Many households in Germany have to dig deeper and deeper into their pockets for gas for heating and cooking, according to calculations by the comparison portal Verivox. Accordingly, the gas costs for a model household with an annual consumption of 20,000 kilowatt hours between January and August rose by more than eight percent on a national average. A “five-year high” has thus been reached. Household gas was last so expensive in January 2016.
“The low levels of gas storage facilities in Germany and the increasing global demand for gas have more than doubled the spot market prices for gas over the course of the year,” said Verivox energy expert Thorsten Storck, explaining the development. This increase is slowly having an impact on gas prices for private consumers.
The market is tense
Upon request from tagesschau.de Verivox said that gas storage levels in Germany were so low because spring 2021 was comparatively cold and more gas was needed. “Since then, the gas flows from Russia have been rather low, which has led to further emptying of gas storage facilities”.
According to the energate industry service, German gas storage facilities were around 55 percent full in mid-August. “In the past ten years, the lowest level at this point in time was 65 percent in August 2018,” says Verivox.
The background to the currently rising gas prices is therefore a strong demand that meets a limited supply, according to other experts. The market as a whole is tense, not only in Europe, but also in Asia and the USA.
Prices are likely to rise
Nevertheless, politicians and experts do not rule out that geopolitical reasons are also responsible for the comparatively sparsely filled storage facilities and low gas flows from Russia as well as the associated potential threats of insufficient supply.
In any case, consumers will have to be prepared for higher prices. Verivox announced that so far no regional gas supplier has offered the prospect of gas price reductions in the coming months. In contrast, 31 regional gas suppliers have currently announced price increases averaging nine percent for August, September and October. With an annual consumption of 20,000 kilowatt hours in a single-family house, this corresponds to additional costs of 128 euros per year.
Fossil fuels are becoming expensive
There is another reason for rising gas prices: “We are expecting a larger wave of gas prices this fall,” said Storck. “In addition to higher wholesale prices, the CO2 price for fossil fuels will also rise from 25 to 30 euros per ton at the turn of the year. Many gas suppliers pass these costs on to their customers,” says Storck.
The costs that consumers incur for gas deliveries depend only in part on the gas price on the raw material markets. The Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy announced that the share of competition was around 49 percent in 2020.
Network charges including metering and billing costs therefore accounted for around 25 percent of the gas price. Network charges are not uniformly high nationwide, as they depend on the costs of the respective network area and the respective gas sales in this area. About 26 percent of the price is accounted for by gas and sales tax.
Think about changing providers
Verivox advises anyone who receives a gas price increase can make use of the special right of termination and switch to a cheaper gas supplier. According to this, households that are still in the basic supply tariff of the local supplier can currently save an average of 426 euros per year with an annual consumption of 20,000 kWh.