2024-04-21 14:40:25
Rising wholesale prices and an increased VAT rate have caused gas prices to rise significantly. Gas is now 17 percent more expensive than the previous month.
Gas prices for new customers in Germany have risen significantly again. As the newspapers of the Funke media group reported on Sunday, citing an evaluation from the comparison portal Verivox, consumers who conclude a new contract with a supplier have to spend around one cent more per kilowatt hour than they did four weeks ago. The Verivox experts see rising wholesale prices and the regular VAT rate that has been in effect again since April as the reasons for the higher gas prices for new customers.
A new customer household with an annual consumption of 20,000 kilowatt hours (kWh) in March 2024 would still pay a nationwide average of around 6.5 cents per kWh. The cheapest offer on the national average is currently around 7.6 cents/kWh. According to Verivox, this corresponds to an increase of around 17 percent. According to the portal, new gas customer tariffs with a twelve-month price guarantee including bonuses were compared for the analysis.
VAT back to normal rate
In order to relieve the burden on households due to high energy prices, the VAT has been seven instead of 19 percent since October 2022. A model family with an annual gas consumption of around 20,000 kilowatt hours was saved an average of 426 euros. Now the full VAT rate is due again.
According to Verivox, wholesale prices for natural gas in Europe were below 3 cents/kWh at the beginning of the year and then fluctuated around the 2.5 cents/kWh mark. “A slight increase has already been observed in the last few weeks and a week ago the spot market price rose again to over 3 cents/kWh. This price movement has a direct impact on the offers for new customers, as the gas suppliers calculate particularly sharply in the face of competition,” said Thorsten Storck, energy expert at Verivox.
The comparison portal now recommends gas customers to set a fixed gas price for the coming heating season. “The wholesale prices for natural gas and thus also the offers for households can definitely rise even further. Anyone who takes out a cheap gas tariff with a price guarantee now can secure the current price level for the coming heating season,” Storck continued.