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A growing number of electricity and gas providers are passing on lower wholesale market prices to their customers. The boss, Eon, also wants to lower the price. Tariff comparisons are worthwhile – if you pay attention to a few things.
The online comparison portal has done the calculations: By switching from a basic supply to a cheaper tariff, a household could save more than 500 euros on electricity bills, Verivox advertises. “Here’s why consumers should take immediate action and switch their suppliers,” Check24 wrote. Households save an average of €603 per year compared to basic services, plus the petrol price brake.
Amelie Vogler of the NRW Consumer Advice Center advises caution with these amounts: “Averages don’t tell how much an individual might save.” Opposite tagesschau.de Consumer advocates point out that the amount you can save by switching depends on your previous tariffs.
What do you think of “discount stores”?
However, according to the North Rhine-Westphalia Consumer Advice Center, changing gas and electricity suppliers is worth it – precisely because of the large price increases last year. Tariff prices remain high for many natural gas customers. Attractive offers are currently being offered especially for new customers. But the consumer advocate recommends keeping a close eye on suppliers — reading reviews from other customers and looking for negative experiences.
Vogler advises against using so-called “discounters.” Some of them have not acted in a consumer-friendly way in the past — for example, they stopped deliveries overnight during periods of high energy prices. Under such circumstances, basic suppliers such as E.ON have to take on electricity and gas customers who suddenly lose suppliers. At the time, tariffs for essential suppliers were sometimes the cheapest, as energy companies were able to cushion price spikes with long-term contracts.
E.ON price cut with time lag
Things have changed again recently – and this has to do with long-term purchases as well. According to E.ON, lower prices in the wholesale energy market can only be passed on to customers for a period of time. The Essen-based energy giant recently announced that it will reduce energy prices for millions of customers from September 1: Basic electricity supply will be reduced by an average of 18% and basic gas supply will be reduced by an average of 28%.
However, this does not apply to all customers of what they say is Germany’s largest electricity and gas supplier. In mid-April, E.ON announced a substantial increase in the basic electricity supply price for customers in North Rhine-Westphalia and Bavaria, which will be implemented from June 1. According to a company spokesman, the price reduction will only delay the effect on these customers by a few months.
Essential Suppliers on top of Price Brakes
Analysis by online comparison portal Verivox shows average basic service prices remain above the price cap, while new customer tariffs are now well below the price cap. Prices are capped at 40 cents per kilowatt-hour for electricity and 12 cents for natural gas.
For months, Hans Weinreuter of the Rhineland-Palatinate Consumer Advisory Center has argued that even basic supply tariffs vary widely. For example, when it comes to electricity, the bandwidth is huge: “The cheapest price is 26 cents per kWh, while another basic provider charges more than 60 cents per kWh.” Use it when you have a high savings potential when switching providers.
exist preset it’s important
According to consumer advocates, the portal’s presets are usually based on the most expensive tariff.opposite tagesschau.de You have to pay attention to the default settings of the tariff calculator and ask yourself, “Is this the contract model I’m in now?” Weinreuter said.
Consumer advocates also recommend making sure new customer bonuses are not included in the total price and that contracts are not too long. Otherwise, the potential for ultimate savings may appear larger than it actually is.
Useful tool – used correctly
The NRW Consumer Advice Center recommends only considering tariffs with incentives if you are considering changing suppliers again at the end of the first year of delivery. Also, the direct change option should be published through the portal. The same applies to the default “tariffs with high customer ratings only” – this should also be displayed better.
From a consumer advocate perspective, comparing platforms can be a helpful tool if used correctly. The NRW Consumer Advice Center has drawn up a checklist for changing suppliers. Consumer advocate Amelie Vogler said fears of people scrounging for the cheapest supplier on the free market could now be allayed after a chaotic year in which some suppliers even stopped delivering.