Ordinary Ledger: 1.45 cents more for gas in Cologne, two different electricity rises in one city, and a letter you can answer by leaving

This morning’s Ledger was about the pump. Tonight’s is about the meter, because the default suppliers have started writing to households about 1 January.

In Cologne, RheinEnergie announced yesterday that it will raise prices for default-supply customers and older contracts without a fixed term¹. For gas, the unit price rises by 1.45 cents to 13.79 cents per kilowatt hour, with the standing charge unchanged at €172.55 a year; on 12,000 kWh that is about €14.50 a month more, a rise of roughly 10.5%¹. For electricity, the same company has two answers in one city: in the RheinNetz grid area the unit price rises by 3.4 cents to 34.88 cents (about €5.95 a month on 2,100 kWh, +7.6%), while in the Westnetz area it rises by 2.39 cents to 39.77 cents (about €4.20 a month, +5.2%)¹. The reason, it says, is that regulated grid fees went up in one area and down in the other¹. Desk arithmetic: 12,000 kWh × 1.45 cents = €174 a year, or €14.50 a month, which matches the company’s figure.

Down the Rhine, Stadtwerke Düsseldorf announced on Tuesday that its default gas unit price rises by 1.59 cents per kWh from 1 January while the standing charge falls by €2.17 a year; for 11,500 kWh it puts the extra cost at about €15 a month, or about €180 a year². It credits long-term purchasing for softening the blow².

They are not alone. A tracker of default suppliers lists announced 1 January changes at Stadtwerke Hamm, EnBW, EWE, Harz Energie, LEW and lekker, and notes that “all announced changes are increases”³. EWE’s gas, for example, goes from 11.01 to 12.90 cents per kWh³.

Now the dull machinery that protects you. Price changes in default supply must be published and sent by letter at least six weeks in advance, which for 1 January means by 20 November³. And customers may cancel without notice to the day the change takes effect³. RheinEnergie also points out that fixed-term contracts within their price guarantee are not affected¹.

For you: find your last bill, see which tariff you are on, and when the letter comes, compare before you shrug. Nothing here is investment advice.