The first of Eswe Supply's 50,000 gas customers in the four municipalities of Wiesbaden, Taunusstein, Schlangenbad and Walluf will find the dreaded letters in their mailboxes as early as Wednesday announcing a sharp tariff increase.
As of October 1, the municipal energy supply company will pass on the sharply increased procurement prices for natural gas to its customers.
The gross gas price increases by 11.65 cents per kilowatt hour.
Oliver Bock
Correspondent for the Rhein-Main-Zeitung for the Rheingau-Taunus district and for Wiesbaden.
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According to the calculations by Eswe Supply, a single household in an apartment with a gas consumption of 8000 kilowatt hours will cost 109 percent more.
The annual costs increase from 788 to 1720 euros.
A family in a single-family house with a consumption of 20,000 kilowatt hours therefore pays 122 percent more.
Calculated over the year, this means an increase from the previous 1746 to 4076 euros.
The winter of 2023/24 is already causing more concern
Anyone who takes this drastic increase as an opportunity to check one of the comparison portals to see whether switching to another gas supplier is worthwhile will be surprised and disappointed.
As of Friday last week, Eswe's model family in Wiesbaden can get gas almost 30 percent cheaper than other suppliers, who currently estimate around 5700 euros a year.
This is because Eswe is now benefiting from a supply that otherwise puts it at a disadvantage when competing with other providers.
While other companies used to supply themselves at low spot market prices, Eswe, as a basic supplier, like other municipal utilities, is also dependent on concluding long-term supply contracts with fixed conditions.
These are now being terminated in series by the so-called previous providers with reference to "force majeure",
but at least for the winter of 2022/23, Eswe is still in a comparatively good position.
CEO Ralf Schodlok is already more worried about the winter of 2023/24, when the gas storage tanks may not be able to be filled as well as they were this summer.
Schodlok speaks of a "difficult price policy" and does not rule out a further increase in three months.
He refers to the exorbitant rise in procurement prices in wholesale, which have risen from around 20 euros per megawatt hour at the beginning of 2021 to more than 200 euros per megawatt hour in futures trading.
In conjunction with the surcharges for gas procurement and gas storage, these prices would result in significantly higher costs.
Filling the gas storage tanks also has a price-driving effect.
Schodlok expects distortions in the market and that some providers will withdraw entirely.
Eswe itself stopped acquiring new customers a few months ago.
However, Eswe does not go as far as other providers, some of whom call horrendous deterrent prices for interested new customers.
But Schodlok openly states that new customers are a burden in this phase because additional gas has to be procured for them,
and like most gas customers, he is hoping for a mild winter.
The market is more volatile than ever before, prices have reached "previously unknown dimensions".
Because not everyone will be able to afford that, Schodlok assumes that Eswe will have to cope with far higher payment defaults from its customers than the company is used to from the past.
There is therefore no lack of information for customers as to where they can turn to in the event of payment difficulties, including submitting an application for the assumption of energy debts at the social welfare office or job center.
that Eswe will have to cope with far higher payment defaults from its customers than the company is used to from the past.
There is therefore no lack of information for customers as to where they can turn to in the event of payment difficulties, including submitting an application for the assumption of energy debts at the social welfare office or job center.
that Eswe will have to cope with far higher payment defaults from its customers than the company is used to from the past.
There is therefore no lack of information for customers as to where they can turn to in the event of payment difficulties, including submitting an application for the assumption of energy debts at the social welfare office or job center.
With the price increase, all customers will also receive a leaflet with lots of energy-saving tips.
The experts assume that citizens can save up to 20 percent of their energy costs with little effort.
If you are content with a room temperature of 16 to 18 degrees at night, you can save up to 30 percent.
According to Eswe, if you are sure that you will use significantly less gas in winter, you can also have your deductions reduced again.
In order to avoid very high additional payments, however, caution is advised.
"The next bill will make many eyes overflow," fears the tenants' association in Wiesbaden.
He is already advising all tenants to set aside reserves for the "very likely high additional payments" from future utility bills.
All tenants would do well to use every opportunity to save on gas, oil and electricity.