Ten million households in Germany spend too much money on their electricity. But that could easily be changed.
Consumers in Germany are paying more than five billion euros more than necessary for electricity this year because they are too lazy to change their tariff. According to an analysis by the comparison portal Verivox, which was made available to the newspapers of the Funke Media Group, almost a quarter of households in Germany get their electricity via the basic supply tariff of the local supplier. According to Verivox, however, this is “by far the most expensive tariff group”.
Because these ten million households are neither looking to change their electricity provider nor to get a cheaper tariff from their current supplier, they are paying almost 5.5 billion euros too much this year, according to the comparison portal. As an intermediary, Verivox usually receives commissions from the providers when contracts are concluded.
All households that do not look for a cheaper offer when building a house or moving in receive the basic supply tariff from their local electricity provider. This has the advantage that it can be canceled at any time. The disadvantage is that the basic supply tariff is comparatively expensive.
Changing provider is usually easy. A customer can switch at any time, provided the contractually agreed notice period is observed.
Free price comparisons are available online at comparison portals such as verivox.de or check24.de. To create a list of the cheapest tariffs, all you need is your annual consumption in kilowatt hours, which can be read off your most recent electricity bill, and your postcode.
Important criteria for a fair electricity tariff are monthly payment, a short notice period, a short connection period and a price guarantee that is at least as long as the contract period. We have written down what else you should consider when changing electricity provider here.
