In view of bankruptcies and contract terminations by electricity providers, the consumer advice center in Saxony-Anhalt has reported a rush of people seeking advice. The dates for the online energy advice have been almost fully booked since November 2021 until the end of January, said a spokeswoman. “And that’s probably just the tip of the iceberg.” The consumer advice center assumes that more people will seek legal advice in the coming weeks.
She advised households affected by terminations by energy providers not to put off checking the concluded contracts for too long in order to assert any claims for damages. The current meter reading should also be read. In addition, consumers should inform themselves carefully about cheap alternatives from electricity providers. The consumer advice center generally advises against advance payments for new contracts, she said.
termination of delivery
According to the Federal Network Agency, around 40 energy suppliers nationwide had announced the end of the supply of mostly electricity, but also some gas, in 2021. In the five previous years there were a total of 97 energy suppliers, in 2020 there were five. The high number of delivery stops in 2021 was justified by economic difficulties due to very high prices in the electricity market. Customers who have entered into a contract with these providers do not have to be in the dark in Germany, said the spokeswoman for the consumer advice center in Saxony-Anhalt.
There is a legally regulated “safety net” (sections 36 and 38 of the Energy Industry Act). According to this, the local basic supplier initially takes over the electricity supply as a so-called backup supply. The default supplier is usually the company that supplies the most customers in a specific grid area. Most of the time, these are the municipal utilities. Sometimes the electricity prices are higher for the customer, but not in every case. It is important to check this carefully before committing to a long-term commitment.
Primary care losses
In Magdeburg, a “small, four-digit number of customers in the household segment” who had lost their energy suppliers against their will were taken over, according to a spokesman for SWM Magdeburg. This means more work for the public utility company. It is undisputed that this – the customer takeover – leads to economic losses for the default supplier, since the short-term, unplanned subsequent procurement of energy is more expensive than the proceeds from the replacement customers bring in.
In Halle, EVH GmbH has stepped in several times and at short notice since the beginning of October 2021 and has already included more than 1000 Halle households in the basic and replacement supply, as a spokeswoman for the municipal utility announced. This was done at the existing prices, so far without introducing a more expensive special tariff.
(bme)