According to the survey published on Thursday, 62 percent of the participants answered in the affirmative whether they were worried “that the energy price crisis would affect them in the future”. 36 percent answered no, 2 percent were undecided or gave no information.
At 71 percent, a clear majority of consumers also demand that insolvent customers with low incomes not have their electricity or gas shut off by the end of April 2022. “This is a clear mandate for the federal government to finally act,” said VZBV energy expert Thomas Engelke about the survey results. “Emergency measures such as lifting power and gas locks are imperative to help low-income households through this crisis.”
Additional costs of up to 3782 euros
According to a study by the VZBV, some basic electricity and gas suppliers in 14 of Germany’s most populous cities have raised their prices for new customers sharply. In the case of electricity, the basic suppliers in five of the cities examined (Cologne, Frankfurt, Leipzig, Dortmund, Dresden) introduced a separate tariff for new customers. For consumers with a power consumption of 3500 kilowatt hours (kWh), this means additional annual costs of up to 1654 euros compared to existing customers.
According to the VZBV, the basic suppliers in seven major cities (Berlin, Cologne, Frankfurt, Leipzig, Dortmund, Essen and Dresden) introduced a separate tariff for gas. With an annual gas consumption of 20,000 kWh, this results in additional annual costs of up to 3782 euros.
Also read: Deutsche Bundesbank: Inflation more than 4 percent likely
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