Switching to the local basic supplier can be a lifesaver for many gas customers – or it can be a boomerang. What is cheaper today can also be expensive tomorrow. This is to be done now.
Even if the gas levy is now off the table, a gas price brake is coming and VAT is falling from 19 to 7 percent: the fact that the tariffs are currently often no longer affordable has not changed for the time being. A kilowatt hour of gas cost an average of 21.9 cents in September, 232 percent more than the year before, according to the comparison portal Check24.
Millions of gas customers do not know what to do next. A new contract with a cheaper provider is usually even more expensive – or not at all. A way out of this misery can be the regional basic supply, which currently often calls for affordable prices for gas and electricity. “That can be the rescue, but it doesn’t have to be,” says Hans Weinreuter, energy expert at the Rhineland-Palatinate consumer center. Because there are catches. Anyone who switches should be careful not to end up in the expensive replacement supply – and be prepared for further price increases in winter.
Energy has never been as expensive as it is now. But instead of panicking, you should calmly check potential savings at home. As our guide shows, there are many of them.
No: Anyone who has received a price increase in the last few weeks will have to cope with the high discount for a while. Udo Sieverding, an energy expert at the North Rhine-Westphalia consumer advice center, explains that it will be a few weeks before the suppliers calculate the gas levy again and factor in the lower value-added tax and announce the new, lower deduction amount.
It is currently still unclear how too much payment will be reimbursed, whether it may only be offset in the annual statement. The reduction in VAT alone will relieve a family’s wallet by around 306 euros per year on average, and that of a single person by 87 euros, as Check24 calculates.
Anyone who has now received a price increase has a special right of termination in any case. Until the new price takes effect, the cancellation must be with the provider. But: Nobody should quit prematurely, advises Weinreuter. If you cannot find a cheaper special contract via search portals, the basic service can become an option.
The change can be attractive for customers, for example, who collect increases of more than 30 or 40 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh) gas – while many basic suppliers still charge between 13 and 24 cents per kWh, as a rough evaluation of the online consumer portal Finanztip showed. When it comes to electricity, most basic suppliers are still at working prices of around 30 to 40 cents per kWh, while special tariffs have already skyrocketed to over 60 cents.
Even if word has spread like wildfire that basic suppliers currently still have comparatively affordable prices, this does not automatically have to be the best solution for everyone, points out Lorenz Bücklein, energy expert at the Saxony Consumer Advice Center. There are significant regional differences. Sieverding is convinced that “the basic service should be cheaper than many special tariffs for another six months.
The provider who supplies the most customers in the region always acts as the basic supplier. In Berlin, for example, it is Gasag for gas and Vattenfall for electricity. In the past, basic supplier tariffs were always the most expensive because the purchasing strategy is long-term. After prices exploded in the short-term oriented competition, basic suppliers are now suddenly attractive. Those who want to switch should therefore find out about the current tariffs from their local basic supplier. They can be found – mostly hidden – on the website. Hotlines also provide information.
Anyone who has found out the current basic supplier tariff must compare it with the working and basic price of their current contract. A special termination only makes sense if the new provider is significantly cheaper. If the prices are similar, customers should weigh them carefully. Because: Price guarantees for six or twelve months, as is usual elsewhere, do not exist with the basic supplier.
“There is definitely a risk that prices for basic services will continue to rise in the winter, especially since everyone is now rushing in,” Weinreuter warns of caution. If the change brings relief, you must give written notice to the previous supplier. Or do it online using the cancellation button. The old provider then sends a confirmation. Also important: Read the meter reading and inform the old supplier as well as the new one.
Normally, as soon as the old contract ends, the customer automatically falls into the basic supply if he uses electricity or gas. However, it is currently advisable to clarify beforehand whether you can actually access basic services directly, advises expert Bücklein. Because: New customers have to reckon with difficulties. While some basic suppliers easily group the newcomers into their comparatively cheap tariffs, they can end up elsewhere in the so-called replacement supply. And forcibly, for three months.
“That can be exorbitantly expensive,” warns Weinreuter. Up to 47 cents per kWh of gas are not uncommon. The detour is lucrative for the supplier, but a letdown for the customer. An example from Chemnitz: Since October, gas supplier Eins has been charging 38.19 cents per kWh for backup supply, while only 14.81 cents are due for basic supply.
Only after three months can the customer get out of the replacement supply and into the basic supply. Consumer advocates consider the trick to be inadmissible. The replacement supply is actually intended for the case of provider insolvency, criticizes Max Müller, a lawyer at the Rhineland-Palatinate consumer center. Anyone who is forced into the replacement supply, which is more expensive than the basic supply from the same provider, should defend themselves and try to get back what they paid too much for. Consumer advice centers are currently preparing sample letters for this.
Weinreuter points out that whether it is worth switching to the basic service does not only depend on the current tariffs. The risk that the basic tariff will also go up in 2023 cannot be dismissed out of hand. But nobody can really predict the development of energy prices, nobody knows what the planned gas price brake will look like in detail. At least the basic service is flexible: the contract can be terminated monthly with a notice period of two weeks, should a cheaper solution become apparent in the future. Consumer centers are advising whether it is still worth switching to the basic service.
