The development on the energy markets is also reflected in lower new customer prices for electricity and gas. Thanks to significantly lower stock exchange prices. This gives new customers a chance to get cheaper rates again.
The mood on the energy markets is cautiously optimistic. Given the mild weather, both wholesale gas and electricity prices have fallen significantly compared to 2022 levels. The price for one megawatt hour of electricity for delivery in the coming year was around 180 euros on the electricity exchange. This is significantly cheaper than in September, when more than 500 euros per megawatt hour was required. Before the start of the energy crisis, however, the long-term average prices were between only 35 and 55 euros per megawatt hour.
The situation is similar with gas. The megawatt hour is currently around 70 euros on the spot markets and thus significantly lower than last summer, when the gas price was at times 350 euros per megawatt hour. But here, too, the pre-crisis level is a long way off. On a long-term average, prices ranged between 10 and 25 euros per megawatt hour.
The development on the energy markets is also reflected in lower new customer prices for electricity and gas. At the same time, the prices for basic services are rising sharply and are now, on average, the most expensive on the market. This is shown by an evaluation of the comparison portal Verivox.
While a kilowatt hour of gas for new customers cost an average of around 40 cents at the beginning of September, it is currently around 14.3 cents. This corresponds to a decrease of 64 percent. A household that heats with gas can reduce its annual bill by an average of 680 euros. The opposite trend can be observed in the basic gas supply. During the same period, prices rose on average from 12.7 to 17.7 cents per kWh. That is an increase of 39 percent.
A kilowatt hour of electricity for new customers cost 56 cents on average nationwide in mid-October, currently it is 42.7 cents and thus 24 percent less. A family with a power consumption of 4000 kilowatt hours who switches from the basic supply to the cheapest provider currently saves an average of 154 euros a year. The basic electricity supply increased in the same period by 27 percent – from 36.8 to 46.6 cents per kWh.
Households that last sought refuge from skyrocketing energy costs in the local basic supply tariff should now compare the available tariffs and consider switching to a national supplier.
(This article was first published on Friday, January 13, 2023.)
