Monday 28 December 2020
Gas customers pay significantly more
Utilities do not pass on falling prices
In summer gas prices drop to their lowest level in decades – at least in purchasing. Consumers do not benefit from this, however, and utilities keep the larger profit margins to themselves.
Millions of gas consumers paid more in 2020 because utilities did not pass on their falling purchase prices to their customers. This emerges from an analysis that the EnergyComment industry service prepared on behalf of the Greens parliamentary group and that is available to "Spiegel".
Accordingly, consumer prices for gas fell less sharply than wholesale purchase prices, which had reached their lowest level in decades in the summer. The margins of the gas industry would have widened from 3.05 to 3.35 cents per kilowatt hour, according to the study. If the utilities had passed all of their savings on to their customers, consumer prices for gas would have fallen by a further five percent. An average household with an annual consumption of 20,000 kilowatt hours would have saved an additional 60 euros. A total of 990 million euros in lost cost reductions would come together.
Part of the retained cost reductions could also be used to mitigate the impending price surge in the coming year. As of January 1st, companies in the heating and transport sectors will be obliged to buy pollution rights for the energy they put into circulation. Initially, 25 euros are due per ton. The CO2 tax will increase the cost of purchasing one kilowatt hour of gas by 0.5 cents, i.e. by around ten percent.
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