According to estimates by the Federal Network Agency, the monthly advance payments for consumers of natural gas will at least triple in the coming year. That said the President of the authority, Klaus Müller. People who are currently getting their bills are also at risk of a shock.
The President of the Federal Network Agency, Klaus Müller, has warned that gas prices for consumers could triple or rise even more. “For those who are now getting their heating bills, the deductions are already doubling – and the consequences of the Ukraine war are not even taken into account,” said Müller to the newspapers of the editorial network Germany (RND) on Thursday. “From 2023, gas customers will have to prepare for the discounts to triple, at least.”
It is “absolutely realistic” that customers who currently pay 1,500 euros a year for gas will in future pay 4,500 euros and more, Müller said. “In some cases, prices on the stock exchanges have increased sevenfold. Not all of this reaches consumers immediately and not in full, but at some point it has to be paid for.”
People would have to make provisions now – both technically and financially, the head of the network agency warned. “I have two messages. First: Increase your deduction voluntarily or put some money aside every month, for example in a special account. Second: Talk to your landlord or a handyman if he is still available. What can be done to optimize the heating?”
About half of the gas boilers in Germany are not well adjusted, said Müller. With a little effort you can “achieve a big savings effect”.
Müller also rejected fears in the RND newspapers that private households could be supplied with lower priority in the event of a gas shortage. “The German and European legal situation provides for private households to be protected to the end,” said Müller.
A scenario in which no more gas arrives at people’s homes, he considers “not very likely”, added the head of the network agency. “Even in the worst scenario, Germany will continue to get gas from Norway and from terminals in Belgium or Holland, soon also directly from terminals on the German coast.”
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