The energy consumers will have a turbulent year 2018. The low water of the Rhine river, drove the petrol and diesel prices in the South and West of the Republic to a record-breaking heights. The natural gas after years of decline, a price reversal. The heating oil customers had to pay in October and November as high prices for four years. And for the next year, a large number of Gas and electricity have announced supplier price increases.

On the other hand, have to pay German consumers but a media report noted that this year, hundreds of millions of euros for the unused green electricity that was fed into the power grids. “It is to be expected in the year 2018, compensation payments from network operators to the Renewable power plant operators,” said a spokesman for the Federal network Agency, the “Augsburger Allgemeine” (Tuesday edition). Thus the corresponding demands of the plant operators increased in the first quarter of this year by about 60 percent.

In comparison to the corresponding period in the prior year, the compensation claims climbed, according to the Federal network Agency, of 142 million euros, 228 million euros, because especially in the case of strong coastal network capacity winches do not sufficient, the produced green electricity to transport. In past years, the claims for compensation were to grow strongly, according to “Augsburger Allgemeine”. In the year 2017, according to the Federal network Agency 610 million euros, in 2016 there were 373 million euros.

14.000 more Electricity than in the year earlier

many of the consumers the feeling of power, therefore, is broad, that power is steadily more expensive. Consumer centers and social politicians warn of “energy poverty”. Due to unpaid invoices was to keep in the past year, almost 344.000 house in Germany temporarily shut off power, lock 14.000 more Electricity than in the previous year, according to the Federal network Agency.

current lock even 4.8 million consumers have been threatened. “This threat always hits households are in a precarious situation and their debt is high risk,” says Christoph Strünck, politics Professor at the University of Siegen and is author of a study on the subject. To be “of the power supply is cut off, is the hardest Form of energy poverty.” However, the Thesis that energy costs rose more sharply than the prices for General living?

A closer look at the price and cost development for the households revealed that the development is less dramatic than it feels. So the consumers in the year 2017, on average, had to pay 57,03 Euro for 100 litres of heating oil. Ten years ago there were 58,63 EUR. Currently, we are in a Phase of higher prices, as early as 2010. The fuel oil costs around 72 euros.