The Russian invasion of Ukraine led to a price explosion on the energy market last year. The situation is now calming down. Wholesale electricity and gas prices are falling rapidly. New customers in particular could benefit, says the comparison portal Verivox.
According to a media report, one year after the start of the Ukraine war, energy still costs twelve percent more than in the previous year. After the price record in October 2022, however, the prices for heating, electricity and fuel have fallen by a total of 21 percent, according to the newspapers of the Funke media group, citing an analysis by the comparison portal Verivox.
According to this, the energy costs for a 3-person model household in February are 6543 euros per year – and thus 679 euros or twelve percent higher than in the same month last year. Energy costs rose by 35 percent to an all-time high in October. Never before have households in Germany spent more on energy.
According to Verivox, wholesale prices for gas and electricity are currently falling rapidly. “On the one hand, this is due to the lower demand from Asia, on the other hand, the fear in the market that there could be major bottlenecks in the supply of fuel has disappeared,” said Thorsten Storck from Verivox. Many energy suppliers would now pass on these discounts, from which new customers in particular could benefit.
“The prices of the national suppliers are now back to the pre-war level,” Storck continued. A change of provider for electricity and gas could reduce the energy bill for families by an average of 708 euros, for couples by 474 euros and for singles by 303 euros.
Electricity and gas customers in particular had to accept significant price increases in the past 12 months. With gas, the annual costs for 20,000 kilowatt hours have risen from 2829 euros to currently 3372 euros – an increase of 19 percent. According to Verivox, the price high was 4349 euros. Since then, the gas price has fallen by 35 percent to date.
Electricity has become more expensive by 16 percent within a year. A household with an annual consumption of 4,000 kilowatt hours (kWh) now pays 1,802 euros instead of the previous 1,553 euros. Since the all-time high in October, however, prices have fallen again by 16 percent. For heating oil customers, heating has become more expensive by only five percent within 12 months. According to the portal, 2053 euros will be due for 20 hectoliters of heating oil this February, after a peak of 3075 euros. On average, drivers currently have to spend about two percent more for refuelling.