The bankruptcies of mostly smaller electricity providers are currently increasing.

Shortly before Christmas, the self-proclaimed “electricity discounter” Stromio stopped supplying electricity with several hundred thousand customers.

The drastic increases in electricity prices are causing problems for the providers.

Anyone who does not have long-term supply contracts with calculable conditions is currently experiencing considerable turbulence.

In some cases, the wholesale price for electricity in December was five times as high as a year earlier.

Daniel Mohr

Editor in the economy of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung.

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If you have an electricity provider who suddenly no longer supplies electricity, you don't have to worry about being in the dark soon.

Customers automatically switch to their basic supplier's replacement supply tariff.

After three months, this changes over to the basic service tariff.

The basic supplier cannot refuse these customers.

Often, however, he doesn't make their debut particularly nice either.

The comparison portal Check 24 has just determined that 260 basic providers have introduced new tariffs exclusively for new customers and have increased prices by an average of 105.8 percent - which has met with sharp criticism from consumer advocates.

The basic suppliers, often municipal utilities, have to buy electricity for the sudden new customers at the currently expensive conditions.

Anyone who just had to automatically switch to their basic supplier should definitely study the conditions under which they are now drawing electricity.

Often he will find a cheaper provider.

He has a statutory right to terminate the change with a notice period of two weeks.

Another bankruptcy cannot be ruled out with the new provider, especially since the current market situation has thinned out the offer.

It is important to choose a tariff without prepayment, because the money is most likely gone in the event of bankruptcy.

Do you have any questions about money?

Please contact Daniel Mohr at fragdenmohr@faz.de