Dhe winter was extremely mild again – but households still had to dig deep into their pockets for heating. This is shown by a study by the Internet comparison portal Verivox, for which the company evaluated its own data and figures from the German Weather Service.
The heating winter, which is slowly giving way to spring, was even more expensive for consumers than ever before. According to Verivox, gas customers had to spend around 20 percent more for a warm home than in the previous year, despite government relief.
Rather mild weather
The heating requirement was lower than in the previous winter. According to the German Weather Service, the winter of 2022/2023 was again significantly too warm, the study says. Compared to the same period of the previous year, which was already mild, the heating requirement for a model household in a single-family home has fallen by an average of 1.5 percent.
However, the mild weather did not result in lower heating costs, reports the comparison portal. On the contrary: A family with gas heating paid an average of 2180 euros in heating costs for the current heating season – which the company assesses in simplified terms for the period from September to March. That was 20 percent more than in the already very expensive period of the previous year. Without the December discount, which was taken over by the state, and without the gas price brake that has been in effect since January, the gas costs would have totaled 2733 euros. That would correspond to an increase of 51 percent.
“Despite numerous state relief measures, heating was more expensive than ever this winter,” says Thorsten Storck, energy specialist at Verivox. “Nevertheless, there is good news: The situation on the procurement markets is easing, so that more and more suppliers are currently lowering their gas prices. Consumers can already secure cheap gas for the coming winter,” said Storck.
Oil this time cheaper than gas
Gas prices have fallen significantly in recent months. A megawatt hour of gas currently costs around 48 euros. That is significantly less than last summer, when gas sometimes cost 350 euros per megawatt hour.
Households with oil heating were not spared from price increases either. According to Verivox, the average costs in the current heating period were 1837 euros. Compared to the previous heating season, this was an 18 percent increase in costs.
While light heating oil cost an average of EUR 95.19 gross per hectolitre in the 2021/2022 heating period, it was an average of EUR 121.96 this season. This corresponds to an increase of 28 percent, which was partly offset by the lower heating requirement.
“The bottom line is that consumers with an oil heating system had to spend around 16 percent less for a warm home than gas customers in the past year,” says the study. In 2018/2019, oil was around 20 percent more expensive than gas for the same heat output.