With falling exchange prices for electricity, the electricity discounters are returning to the market.
Electricity providers such as Sparfuxx, Ideal Energie, Immergrün, Grünwelt or Grüner Funke are undercutting each other with prices between 28 and 32 cents per kilowatt hour, reports the “Handelsblatt„.
However, consumer advocates warn against some low-cost providers. Last year we saw “how quickly this can be over” if electricity providers do not hedge against price fluctuations in the long term.
Due to turbulence on the energy market in 2022, cheap electricity providers left the market. Many electricity discounters relied on electricity from the stock exchange, which was still cheap before the war, and after the outbreak of war, due to a lack of long-term contracts, they were unable to meet their obligations to cover their costs. Customers had to face exorbitant price increases of up to 500 percent get involved, or expect their contracts to be terminated at short notice.
A new picture is now emerging. Electricity prices are a long way from the autumn record high of 70 cents per kilowatt hour. In the meantime he is lying average electricity price at 34 cents a kilowatt hour. The electricity discounters have been returning to the market since January with prices between 28 and 32 cents, reports the “Handelsblatt“. Suppliers such as Sparfuxx, Ideal Energie, Immergrün, Grünwelt or Grüner Funke are now vying for customers again.
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But consumer advocates like Ramona Pop, chairwoman of the Federal Association of Consumer Organizations, warn against giving in to the tempting offers. You’ve seen “how quickly it can be over”. The business model of only buying electricity when it is cheap on the stock exchange has proven to be unsustainable.
However, not everything that is cheap is dubious. Energy expert and consumer advocate Thomas Engelke warns in the “Handelsblatt” that customers do not only have to look at the price. The energy crisis has caused regulatory pressure to give electricity customers more security. Due to changes in the Energy Industry Act, providers must inform their customers of a termination three months in advance. “Things have improved. Whether that’s enough remains to be seen,” says Engelke.
AA