Renovating, clearing out, packing boxes: anyone who moves usually has their hands full. Important things can sometimes get left behind. But it shouldn’t be the energy contracts.
A move is pending: But what happens to the contracts for gas or electricity? In principle, you can keep your contract and take it with you or change suppliers. It is important to note that certain deadlines and formalities apply both to taking the contract with you and to changing suppliers.
“Anyone who moves should think about what will happen to the current energy contracts in good time,” says Julia Schröder, energy law expert at the Lower Saxony consumer advice center. If the deadlines are missed, there is a risk of unnecessary expenses: Two contracts may then run in parallel.
Whether the old contract can be taken at all is stated in the general terms and conditions. There you will also find information on how long in advance you have to announce that you are taking it with you. This is currently particularly worthwhile if you have a special contract with a fixed term and fixed price.
If you still want to cancel, you have to note: “A contract in the basic service must be canceled with a notice period of two weeks, a special contract even six weeks before moving out” – in writing, according to Schröder.
Even then, exceptions can mean that the special termination is not effective: For example, if the supplier offers to continue the contract at the new place of residence under the previous conditions within two weeks of receipt of the termination. However, care should be taken to ensure that the outstanding remaining term and the previous prices remain. If the provider changes the price or other contract conditions as a result of the move, he would not have offered to continue the contract under the previous conditions and the termination would be effective.
If the contract is terminated or delivery to the new place of residence is not possible, a new contract must be drawn up. And it’s best to do it right away, advises Schröder. Because in the current situation, a change is difficult, cheap providers are difficult to find. Customers should therefore calmly compare and ask providers whether new customers are still accepted at all.
On the day of the move, the meter reading and meter number in the new apartment and the meter reading in the old apartment should be determined. This data should be communicated to the gas or electricity supplier and, to be on the safe side, also to the responsible network operator.
