Gas price brake, electricity price brake and reimbursement for district heating. But what about households that heat with heating oil? In the small print, the federal government has planned a relief. But only a few can benefit from it. FOCUS online says exactly what applies.
The price brakes apply on March 1st. The federal government has planned price caps for gas, electricity and district heating. They should apply until April 2024 and relieve millions of households.
Initially, heating oil customers and households with pellets and liquid gas heating were not taken into account in the planned relief. Millions of households use precisely these energy sources. What many do not even have on their screens: the federal government has tightened up.
The federal states are now entering into negotiations. The goal? From March 2023, households that do not heat with so-called “mains-bound” fuels are also to be relieved.
Also read: This is how much you save per square meter with the heating gift from March 1st
Households must become active themselves. Unlike gas, electricity or district heating, reimbursement is not automatic. Affected households must first fill out and submit an application. The federal states are responsible. It is possible that the applications have to be submitted to town halls, district offices, district administrations and housing offices. The first federal states also allow online applications – for example in Berlin.
Support is capped. There are up to 2000 euros and only 80 percent of the additional expenses are reimbursed.
Households must meet these criteria:
You must have ordered heating oil, pellets or LPG between January 1st and December 1st, 2022.
The purchase price must have at least doubled compared to the previous purchase. You need the invoice from 2022 and then have to present proof of payment (account statement) later. If you paid in cash, you need the receipt.
Politicians warn that the payout could be susceptible to fraud. Therefore, applicants must submit an affidavit on the fuel bill.
There is a de minimis limit. The state does not help with additional expenditure of less than 100 euros.
The decisive factor is the final invoice for the ordered quantity of heating oil, pellets or liquid gas in 2022.
The federal states can now set a reference value. The state of Berlin has already decided on this. In order for households to receive a refund, they must have paid at least EUR 1.21 per liter for a liter of heating oil in 2022. A minimum price of 0.41 euros per kilogram applies for pellets, a minimum price of 99 cents per liter for liquid gas and a price of over 17 cents per kilogram for coal.
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.
The reimbursement is particularly high for households that ordered heating oil between the beginning and end of March. In many cases they had to pay from 1.60 euros per liter. At the top it was even 2.02 euros per liter. There were also sharp jumps in the price of heating oil between the end of May and the beginning of October. At its peak, the price per liter was 1.71 euros.
For comparison: Between January 2021 and December 2021, the liter price of heating oil was between 54 and 84 cents.
For pellets, the average price rose massively between mid-July and mid-October 2022. At times, prices ranged from 56 cents to an average of 77 cents per kilogram. At the top, companies called up 81 cents per kilogram of loose wood pellets.
For comparison: Between January and December 2021, the price per kilogram was between 20 and 35 cents.
Here the landlord must take care of the reimbursement. Owners must sign the affidavit and submit end-of-rent documents. You must then pass on the discharge to the tenants.
