ᐅ Gas Price Increase Effective January 1, 2022

This doesn’t only apply to gas. It is even more extreme with heat pumps. So far, we have been paying 21 cents, and now the lowest rate is 26 cents, with the next one right after at 30 cents.

That’s an increase of 30 to 50% in one year. This means several hundred euros more in heating costs. Quite significant.

Bookstar schrieb:

So far, we paid 21 cents and now the cheapest is 26

In my planning, I hadn’t even found rates that high. I calculated everything for myself using 30 cents. So far, things look pretty good. About 4-6 months ago, there was a sort of sweet spot when I thought, “Wow, electricity has become really cheap.”

Bookstar schrieb:

So far, we have paid 21 cents, and now the cheapest is 26 cents, followed closely by 30 cents.

Yes, the increase from 21 to 26 cents is indeed quite a sudden jump. Even the Flensburger apparently have to pass on the rising costs. I really should have opted for kfw40 or a brine heat pump back then...

ypg schrieb:

Electricity prices will follow the increases in gas prices, according to the consumer advice center.

Do you know why the consumer advice center expects this or why it should be the case? I had so far thought that the consumption of (green) electricity is politically favored, while the use of gas (and oil) is not. Therefore, I assumed that electricity would be strongly supported through tax measures in the future, and gas would not. (Although I recently read that SPD and FDP want to classify gas as sustainable energy. However, I have only seen the headline so far. ;-) ) I was aware that oil and gas prices are somehow linked, but I wasn’t aware of a connection between electricity and gas prices.

If you have time and feel like it, please write a detailed response. 🙂 I always find your posts very informative and helpful.

Oetzberger schrieb:

Yes, the increase from 21 to 26 cents is indeed an unexpectedly sharp jump. Even the Flensburg providers apparently have to pass on the price developments. I really should have chosen kfW40 or a ground-source heat pump back then...

Are there any statistics on how much more efficient a ground-source heat pump is compared to an air-to-water heat pump? We are having a ground-source heat pump installed with surface collectors (water protection area).

Pinkiponk schrieb:

If you have the time and feel like it, please write long and detailed posts. 🙂 I always find your contributions very informative and helpful.

:p Hehe… Thanks ~.~

Pinkiponk schrieb:

I knew that oil and gas prices are "somehow" linked, but I wasn’t aware that electricity and gas were connected.

Well. There is always some kind of link: in the past oil/gas, nowadays gas/electricity.
My “insight” in #118 actually comes from my consumer advice newsletter from Lower Saxony.

• Summer in Germany was low in wind and solar power, so additional electricity generation has to rely on other sources that use natural gas.
• The phase-out of nuclear power and coal production increases the demand for gas to generate electricity.
Source: Plusminus, the first one:

• The lack of expansion of renewable energy will drive electricity prices up in the coming years
• Expensive electricity threatens the competitiveness of German companies
• Voltage fluctuations in the power grid cause problems for medium-sized companies
• German electricity could become scarce; expensive electricity from foreign nuclear and coal power plants would then have to be purchased
By 2023, electricity prices could rise from currently just under 32 to 37 cents per kilowatt-hour. According to experts, the main cause is the slow expansion of renewable energy.
• The rise in electricity prices is directly linked to the hesitant expansion of renewables, explains Prof. Jürgen Karl from the University of Nuremberg-Erlangen. In order to ensure supply security in Germany, conventional fossil fuel power plants have to compensate for the shortfall when green electricity is insufficient. “As long as we can only provide so little renewable energy, it simply means that expensive gas power plants, even oil power plants, increasingly have to be used,” says Prof. Jürgen Karl. “The more often we have to use these expensive gas power plants, the higher the electricity price.”
The slow progress in expanding renewables has been ignored by the federal government for years – experts agree on this assessment. This development has consequences for future electricity prices. For example, the expansion of onshore wind power has nearly come to a halt due to setback regulations. In addition, sometimes years-long permitting procedures significantly delay the expansion.