Consumer protection organization urges Germans not to pay electricity bills

BERLIN

A German consumer protection organization Friday called on people not to pay their electricity bills if companies continue to charge inflated prices.

"The scale of the increases is not justified by market prices," Aribert Peters, head of the Association of Energy Consumers, told Bild newspaper.

He added, addressing consumers in Germany, "Don't pay your bills!"

According to Peters, when in doubt, energy suppliers must provide evidence that the increases are justified by market prices.

In Germany, which is Europe's largest economy, electricity prices are rising massively at the end of the year. More and more utilities are passing on the increased wholesale prices to consumers.

"Consumers must prepare for a massive new wave of price increases in gas and electricity prices," comparison portal Verivox has warned.

"We are talking here about surcharges averaging 54% for electricity and 50% for gas at the turn of the year," experts of the portal told the newspaper.

According to calculations by the Federal Statistical Office, energy prices in Germany already rose by 35.6% between August 2021 and August 2022.

In August, the inflation rate for heating oil was 111.5% compared to the previous year, with 83.8% for natural gas and 16.6% for electricity, while power plants had to pay 269.1% more for natural gas than in the same month last year.

Germany is facing a severe energy crisis due to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, which led to disruptions in the gas supply and pushed energy prices to record highs. Before the start of the war in Ukraine, Russia was supplying 55% of Germany's natural gas.