Life has become expensive in this country, inflation is getting out of control. This is particularly noticeable when it comes to energy costs. The federal government is countering this with the relief package, but it is far from being able to compensate for the inflation for the citizens.
Even if there is currently something more frightening than shelling out significantly more euros for electricity, heat and fuel, the high prices for energy and life in general are still a concern. And can be quite threatening for low-income households.
In order to meet the massive increase in the cost of living, citizens have two options: either increase their income or reduce their expenses. The former is not easily possible for most people. The latter in itself a pretty good idea – especially when it comes to energy consumption. That would not only be easy on their own wallets, it would also put less strain on the climate and also reduce Putin’s war chest. However, if savings are also made on other things and consumption per se is restricted in order to curb personal inflation, it becomes dangerous. For the economy.
The federal government is aware of the needs of its citizens and the resulting threat to the economy and has therefore launched the relief package. This includes a flat-rate energy fee for employed persons of 300 euros, an increase in the flat-rate income-related expenses by 200 euros, a family allowance in the form of a one-off bonus of 100 euros per child, the elimination of the EEG levy in the second half of the year, and a reduction in energy tax Fuel for three months and the increase in the basic allowance. And if you like, you can leave your car behind and buy a 9-euro ticket.
It doesn’t sound like much at first, but it’s not enough to compensate for the increased energy costs alone, as calculations by the comparison portal Verivox have shown. Accordingly, the energy costs for a model household have risen by 62 percent within the last twelve months. Which means an annual additional burden of 2408 euros. However, the federal government’s relief package does not even compensate for half of these additional costs at 1035 euros.
The calculation is based on a four-person household with a combined annual gross income of 92,688 euros, a heating requirement of 20,000 kilowatt hours (kWh), an electricity consumption of 4000 kWh and an annual mileage of 13,300 kilometers. The average prices for electricity and gas correspond to the separately calculated Verivox consumer price index, in which both the prices of the local basic suppliers and the 30 most important national providers are used. The fuel prices were taken over by the ADAC. The tax calculation was made by the Association of Taxpayers.
And even if the household income were to be significantly lower and the energy price flat rate of a total of 600 euros (gross) came into play, it should not be forgotten that low-income households suffer disproportionately from high inflation.
Heating oil customers in particular are suffering from the development. Heating with oil became more expensive by 144 percent. In April 2021, 1305 euros were due for 20 hectoliters of heating oil, a year later it was already 3196 euros. There has also been a significant price increase for gas: the costs for 20,000 kilowatt hours have doubled from 1184 euros to 2424 euros – an increase of 105 percent. Electricity prices have increased by 30 percent over the year. Gasoline (plus 35 percent) and diesel (plus 56 percent) have also increased significantly.
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