The brake on electricity prices has been in place for more than a month. In fact, energy suppliers should have informed German households of this as early as February. This approach was demanded by consumer groups so that victims could switch suppliers in a timely manner in the event of high prices. But many consumers are still waiting for letters from their electricity suppliers.
The current energy brake limits the prices of electricity, gas and district heating. Customers only pay the full price for 20% of the previous year’s consumption. For the remaining 80%, the tariff per kWh is the limit.
For electricity, the braking price is 40 cents per kWh including taxes and charges, for gas it is 12 cents per kWh and for district heating it is 9.5 cents. The invoices are issued by the energy suppliers, who must automatically pass on the discounts.
Why haven’t you received a letter yet?
“The law requires that, if possible, from March, consumers feel relieved – the deductions will be reduced accordingly,” says the Saxon Consumer Protection Agency.
The trade association BDEW points out that shifting the price brakes to different types of contracts, taking into account special cases such as relocation or termination of a contract, and different rules for electricity and gas would entail a work of complex programming. Many systems would need to be retooled.
“We took on the task of helping people,” said Kerstin Andreae, head of BDEW. “This is the main task of the state – to provide support to citizens.”
Municipal and local utilities had to change their systems in time to be able to start sending letters in February. In many cases, this is done through updates from the software vendor, which are, however, delayed. “First of all, updates have to be installed in IT, tested and bugs fixed. We have already done this and are now debugging the last roughness,” said Stadtwerke Leipzig.
What should I do if I have not been contacted?
Be patient and act on your own. Households are generally contacted by mail during April or May. If nothing has been told to you, you can call your electricity supplier directly.
Basically, customers don’t have to do anything to rein in prices. Stadtwerke München writes about this: “As soon as possible, we will inform you in writing about the consequences of the relaxation. You don’t have to do anything, we take care of everything.”
What else can customers do? Look for any messages from your energy supplier in your mailbox or on your supplier’s portal. After successfully logging into the portal as a customer, you can find information about the price brake under the headings: “Mailbox”, “Messages” or “My contract details”.
Should I change provider?
In principle, it is worth looking for cheaper providers. However, to do this, you need to know how much you are currently paying per kilowatt hour of electricity and what is the cheapest rate from another supplier.
According to comparison portals Verivox and Check24, after last year’s price spike, there are now plenty of offers for new electricity or gas customers at below-margin prices. Thus, you will not fall into the trap of the price of electricity.
What should I pay attention to when changing tariffs?
To change your rate, you only need two things: a recent notice from your electricity or gas supplier to know your consumption, and your own postal code. Interested parties should enter both into the rate calculators. They will then receive a list of the different service providers and their prices.
As soon as a new rate is found, the new supplier is engaged in the transition. With one exception: if the customer wants to change the tariff quickly, he must contact his supplier himself, because the change always takes some time. Some providers accept written notices, as well as telephone or email notices.
What deadlines must be respected?
In the case of a basic service, the notice period is generally one month, until the end of the following calendar month. In other cases, the agreed notice periods apply, which are governed by the general terms and conditions.
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