ᐅ Is the EnBW advance payment too high?

Hello everyone,

we are currently in the final phase of building our house. Since the beginning of August, the screed has been laid, and the heat pump is currently running the screed drying program.

We have a separate electricity meter for the heat pump.

Today, we found two letters from EnBW in the mailbox. They can only be bills...

So, we opened the first letter:

"Welcome to EnBW blabla... Please pay 200 euros per month as an advance payment for electricity!"

Wow, secretly we were expecting a bit less, but okay, it’s just an initial estimate.

What does the second letter say...?

"Welcome to EnBW blabla... Please pay 200 euros per month as an advance payment for electric heating!"

Whaaaat... seriously??? That would be 400 euros every month in total!!!

About the new build: semi-detached house, 130 sqm (1400 sq ft), Energy Saving Regulation 2016

Can this be correct? Somehow this advance payment seems completely arbitrary. Can anyone provide realistic figures? Is there a way to object to excessively high advance payments?

Thanks in advance.

First of all, the typical consumption figures are completely made up, as is the advance payment for electric heating. However, underfloor heating with screed costs quite a bit (this must be accounted for under construction costs), so it’s better not to set the advance payment too low to avoid additional charges. I would simply wait a few months after moving in, monitor the electricity meter, and then adjust the advance payment to match your actual consumption, keeping in mind that electricity use will be higher in winter.

Realistic figures are difficult because electricity, heating, and hot water consumption vary greatly from household to household.
From on the go

Additionally, this very high initial installment has the advantage that you are essentially paying off the screed heating in installments... of course, as Saruss says, it should be adjusted after 3-4 months.
However, I don’t quite understand why there would be an extra 200 € per month for household electricity – but well, everyone’s situation is different.

We had the same experience with EnBW, and on top of that, construction electricity was charged at 32 cents per kWh. EnBW already had a direct debit authorization at that time and was regularly withdrawing payments—of course, a flat rate of 108 euros per month. After one month, I called and provided the current meter reading.

For the entire construction phase, we only used 348 kWh for the prefabricated house with dry screed, and for the upper floor, the screed elements were even prefabricated at the factory.

Currently, we have consumed about 2,980 kWh of heating electricity and 2,600 kWh of household electricity. The first year ends in early October, and at least for the household electricity, we will switch providers. We will also receive a refund.

second schrieb:
Can we protect ourselves against excessively high advance payments?

A quick call to the customer service hotline would have resolved this faster than starting this thread.

I’m being this straightforward because you mentioned "protect." You don’t need to "fight back," just simply "talk" to them. That is usually completely sufficient.

Thank you for the responses.

I have now significantly reduced the advance payment. It is now 170 € per month instead of the previously requested 400 €.

It wasn’t easy; after two 30-minute waits on hold, I finally managed to convince the representative to lower the advance payment.

I will switch providers as soon as possible; I’m sure I can find better service at a lower cost elsewhere...