Will the gas surcharge come or not? Consumers are confused. The federal government’s gas surcharge was originally announced for October 1st, but the new fee is now to come a little later. FOCUS online says what to expect now.
Several community, municipal utilities and basic suppliers announced higher prices for October 1st in August. The price adjustment includes at least the gas levy of around 2.4 cents. But the federal government is buying more time because there are still questions to be answered. The gas surcharge should come no later than October 31.
Have municipal utilities and gas suppliers announced a price adjustment for October 1st, which should actually apply from October 31st? Not really.
FOCUS online says what now applies to gas households.
Attention, now it gets complicated.
The gas surcharge is to be made with the advance payment from October 31st. If the gas supplier has announced a price increase as of October 1st, he may introduce it as of October 1st, but he may not collect the gas surcharge before October 31st.
In addition, it is still completely unclear whether all gas customers – from a legal point of view – have to pay the gas levy or not. Corresponding verdicts are expected soon.
If your supplier usually deducts the gas deduction from you at the beginning of the month or towards the middle of the month, the following applies: The gas surcharge may not be debited by October 15th. Not even if the price adjustment applies from October 1st.
You do not have to pay the gas surcharge if the gas supplier wants to collect the higher deduction by October 1st. Then he has to deduct the gas surcharge or grant a credit on the discount on November 1st. It is unclear how many households this affects. In the past few weeks and months, several municipal utilities had increased the prices hefty and justified this price adjustment with the gas surcharge.
Check your tee.
Can the gas supplier raise the prices at all? If you have agreed a price guarantee, it may not be increased. It doesn’t matter whether it’s gas or not.
Ask yourself whether the gas supplier used your consumption from the previous year to prepare the bill. Many gas companies are trying to push through higher down payments. You can object to this.
To calculate whether the down payment is justified, you need three things:
final invoice from the previous year
Your annual consumption is on the document. With this you can see how much gas you have used in kilowatts.
Write this value down on a piece of paper.
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.
Current consumption
Go to the gas meter and write down the cubic meters or kilowatt hours given. About 24 hours later, repeat the process and write down the number on the gas meter again. The difference would be their daily consumption. Now multiply this by 30. The resulting number would be your average gas consumption per month.
New advance payment
There are two important items on the letter that the gas company sent you. The basic price and the working price. The basic price is comparable to the basic fee. The working price indicates what the kilowatt hour of gas costs.
For the discount you need the basic price and the working price. Multiply this by the annual consumption from the previous year.
If you consumed around 15,000 kilowatt hours in the previous year, this will also be the case in 2022.
Now take this value and multiply it by the current energy rate (e.g. 27.1 cents). Then multiply the base price by 12 to get the annual value.
Now add up the working price and the basic price and divide by 12. You have calculated your discount.
Compare this value with the information on the letter that the gas supplier sent you.
If the down payment was overestimated by the gas supplier, act immediately.
Contact the gas supplier as soon as possible.
The gas supplier is legally obliged to justify the higher deductions. Submit your objection in writing and by registered mail.
Tell the company that you had a significantly higher consumption last winter and that this will not be the case this year. Possible reasons include replacing the heating, saving energy, a child has moved out, you had to look after a relative last winter, and others.
Have you received your new gas discounts these days? We would like to speak to you about this and report on your situation. Please write to us at mein-bericht@focus.de how high your previous deductions were and how much you should pay in the future and when and how we can best reach you. Thank you, your FOCUS online editorial team!
If you lodge an objection in writing, state how high your advance payment was in the previous year.
Gas costs too high: Compare tariffs now and save
Send us your gas bills! What do you pay for gas from October 1st? How much have advance payments changed for you? Register by sending an email to k.mitsis(a)focus.de. Put “gas price” in the subject line.
A small note: In view of the very high number of user reports, our response may be delayed.
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