A new wave of prices is rolling towards consumers

Prices are being tightened everywhere in Germany. A pricey wave of historic proportions is hitting Germans. Energy costs are a particular price driver. So far, the focus has primarily been on the gas price. But the Germans will also have to dig much deeper into their pockets when it comes to electricity prices in 2023. The important grid usage fees will rise to a record level in the coming year.

Whether in the supermarket, at the gas station or at the hairdresser’s: life in Germany has never been more expensive than it is today. Inflation recently jumped to 10 percent, the highest it has been in 70 years. Anyone hoping for an improvement in the coming year in view of the price surge in 2022 is likely to be disappointed.

Grid usage fees will make electricity prices even more expensive in 2023

At least with the price of electricity, there is no improvement in sight. According to the comparison portal Verivox, the important ones are increasing Usage fees in 2023 by an average of 20.4 percent. There has never been such a strong price increase (source: daily News).

For a household with an annual consumption of 4,000 kilowatt hours, the fees are expected to be 367 euros net. That’s a whopping plus 62 euros compared to the previous year. The grid usage fees are a kind of postage for electricity transport. Rising costs are passed on to consumers.

How high the loads are however, varies regionally. Mecklenburg-West Pomerania is at the top. Here the costs increase by 52 percent, which means an annual additional burden of 208 euros. Baden-Württemberg recorded the lowest increase in costs at 10 percent.

Even a balcony power plant can lower the electricity bill:

Energy experts call for urgency on the electricity price brake

“For consumers, this means further increases in electricity prices,” says energy expert Thorsten Storck from Verivox. He demands Hurry with the electricity price brake, which the traffic light coalition announced at the beginning of September. This is the only way to relieve households in the energy crisis.

If you don’t want to wait for the state, you can only do one thing: save energy. This works, for example, with energy-efficient household appliances. Stiftung Warentest recently revealed which washing machine uses particularly little electricity.