The prices for energy sources, including electricity, have increased significantly in recent years. However, we can reduce the negative effect on our wallet quite effectively with a regular electricity provider comparison. Why and how you can save money with a power comparison will be discussed below.
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Why the electricity supplier comparison is important
In everything we do today, electric power plays an important role as a source of energy, and the whole heated discussion about digitization would be completely obsolete without electricity. Everything and every machine that used to work mechanically has been replaced by electrically driven components, whether it’s the electric door opener, the refrigerator, the washing machine or, more recently, the replacement of the gasoline engine with e-mobility. On the one hand, there is the constantly increasing number of electricity consumers, on the other hand, clearly caused by the adopted energy turnaround, a clear tendency of the electricity price increase to note that sometimes even in jumps (up) has taken place.
For the electricity customer, this means a double, if not triple, burden, and an end to this development is not in sight. Reason enough for an electricity supplier comparison or short power comparison. Yes, it is true that there are many different measures to save electricity, such as the always cited shutdown of the stand-by mode or the targeted purchase of devices with very low power consumption. However, the real lion’s share of saving energy costs lies in the price of electricity itself. The solution to the problem thus begins with the direct comparison of electricity supplier prices.
The following numerical examples should clarify these statements:
Up to 150 euros (on average 115 euros) per year, the permanent operation of household electrical appliances in stand-by mode, calculates the German Energy Agency. What is not taken into account in the statistics, is the fact that the standby operation is usually done by very simple switching power supplies that have a limited “life expectancy”, that is, the cost of the replacement of some power supplies come here to do so. A table with information about the consumption of electrical appliances in stand-by mode can be found here, for example:
- 1-person household – 2,300-kilowatt-hours (kWh)
- 2-person household – 3,000 kWh
- 3-person household – 3,600 kWh
- 4-person household – 4,000 kWh
- 5-person household – 5,000 kWh
Why the electricity cost comparison of different electricity providers is so interesting, also show the following examples: How much the consumer costs electricity in Germany is by no means uniform. Apart from individual consumption, the place of residence also determines the tariff. Let’s take an example of the current costs for 3,500 kWh (annual consumption of two to three people) in different cities (regions):
- Frankfurt am Main – 1162 €
- Berlin – 1141 €
- Hamburg – 1122 €
- Munich – 1069 €
- Cologne – 1026 €
- Dusseldorf – 981 €
It is often the local electricity providers who are fairly profit-oriented in their pricing.
How are such significant price differences of the electricity providers even possible?
In North Rhine-Westphalia, the network operator Amprion comes with its demands relatively moderate. This benefits, in particular, the city of Bonn, which is known for its low electricity prices. Also, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, especially the region around Rostock, is characterized by favourable electricity prices. In Saxony and in Schleswig-Holstein, especially in Flensburg, things look quite different. Sometimes people separate only a few miles from a cheap electricity price, namely when they happen to live on the wrong side of the border between two states.
Under the “basic supply” is also an obligation of the local electricity provider to understand, to provide the population with electrical energy. It is a kind of general (not quite cheap) tariff, in which every customer has to be classified according to the principle of equal treatment. Only through the actively operated change, the customer comes out of it. For this reason alone, it is always worthwhile to carry out the electricity comparison and a corresponding tariff change, because the savings can amount to a few hundred euros each year, depending on the residential region.
Tempting alternatives to the basic supply are plentiful today because more than 1,000 companies are competing for the favour of consumers on the German electricity market. These usually independent low-cost suppliers bustle at the Leipzig Power Exchange to secure their extensive contracts as cheaply as possible. They then go into the sales offensive and just offer new customers enticing package prices, loyalty bonuses and price guarantees, although it can happen that such companies can “take over” and sometimes slip into bankruptcy.
What should be considered when comparing the current?
Since every single one of the more than 1,000 electricity suppliers offers an entire list of different electricity tariffs, this almost infinite number of confusion is almost unclear. In order nevertheless to find them individually best suitable Stromtarif, one strives just the current comparison. As mentioned, the new customers are virtually courted by the providers. At the beginning, one may also have the impression that the golden promises are kept. If the customer is then safe, his tariff quietly creeps up the stairs over the years. On the part of the company, this is completely understandable, because the customer should finally get paid.
In contrast, the electricity provider usually gets the convenience of its customers, who simply let things go and no longer want to take care of their electricity contract. Just to compare in numerical terms the electricity providers, so far from guaranteed that you have found in the long run the really cheap electricity provider, because “the butcher of the piggy bank lurking everywhere”, especially in the fine print. For this reason, we have put together criteria for the sustainable electricity price comparison to our interested readers.
Four cornerstones bear the successful comparison of electricity providers
Pay attention to the shortest possible contract period or notice period, which should be associated with a price guarantee over the entire contract period. To avoid unnecessary bureaucracy, the contract should automatically renew under the same terms and conditions, unless one party has terminated it in writing in a timely manner.
- Understandably, electricity providers want to retain their customers for as long as possible. The Energy Adviser’s recommendation tends to accept a minimum contract term of no more than twelve months. Companies that offer contracts of six months on their own are considered particularly serious. Apparently their product is so customer friendly that they do not have to fear a quick termination.
- The shorter the notice period, the better. It is supposed to happen that an electricity supplier increases the electricity price. The customer has a right of termination in this case. In order not to remain bound to the contract for many months, consumer advocates recommend that the notice period should not be more than one month if possible.
- The price guarantee prevents the customer from increasing prices during the contract period through the back door. Most electricity providers formulate a so-called “limited price guarantee”, which means that price increases caused by the state are well passed on to customers. This means that electricity costs can rise despite the price guarantee. So make sure you’re really offering a real price guarantee, and some companies will do it and take the risk themselves.
- If the Power Contract is associated with an automatic renewal, which is desirable, you should note the latest possible date for termination. Make sure that the automatically extended contract period is set as short as possible (for example, only one month), which is convenient and fair for all concerned.
As a rule, the so-called electricity discounters can offer unbeatably low electricity tariffs. With them, everything runs automatically on the Internet, including the billing. Every customer should be aware of the fact that this means a considerable loss of service.
Procedure for current comparison
In the jungle of electricity tariffs, there are electricity packages with and without advance payment or deposits as well as bonuses under certain conditions and so on. It is, therefore, worthwhile to take a closer look at the respective contract conditions in order to understand which of the electricity tariffs offered really suits you. One of the most important parameters for the electricity cost comparison, which already provides the first rough orientation, is certainly the stated price per kilowatt-hour. In addition, you should answer the following questions honestly or consider these aspects:
Do I need a power package?
A power package is characterized by the fact that within a certain period of time a fixed (electrical) amount of energy is retrieved in kilowatt-hours. If you need more energy than contracted, you’ll have to pay extra for every extra kilowatt-hour. If you have used less energy during this time, you still pay the full package price. The electricity package is useful if you know your annual consumption very well and have remained constant over the last few years. Or, if you see a clear trend in your data to increase your annual energy needs by maybe eight per cent, then you can estimate the need for the coming year fairly accurately.
For electricity, comparison avoid prepayment and deposit
There are still some cheap electricity providers who insist on an advance payment of the expected annual consumption. If you get involved, you run the risk of not getting any electricity for your good money if the provider goes bankrupt. This scenario has often happened this way. The situation is similar in the case of a demanded special deduction or a deposit. Even in these cases, larger amounts are due at the beginning of the contract, which will be charged only at the end of the contract period, if the electricity supplier then still exists. In the worst case, you will continue to receive your electricity from the local electricity provider, which is obliged to supply the citizens. This “safe” service, he can also be royally paid (rightly, you might think).
Electricity comparison also refers to the type of electricity production
Today, environmental protection is a high motivation for many people, which has not escaped the electricity providers. We are still seeing an increasing trend towards green electricity. Therefore, most electricity providers have certified green electricity tariffs in their portfolio. But there are also independent providers who have specialized specifically on green electricity. If you are one of the people who prefer the “natural stream,” you should confront yourself with the question of how important it really is to you, because the “good conscience” is not free. In addition, you should know that green electricity is not equal to green electricity.
There are different variants. When comparing electricity, you come across pure hydropower energy or a combination of wind energy and hydropower. Other providers are still mixing a few shares of energy from fossil fuels, but they can not keep their fingers off the nuclear power. The great marketing and the associated tricks of customer capture have long since discovered the green power for themselves. Who wants to make sure that he really gets delivered green electricity should, when contracting, where appropriate, on recognized Ökostromsiegel like pay attention to “green power” or “ok power”.
No power comparison without bonuses
Rewards are a very important component of the electricity supplier comparison. As enticing as the one-off payment may seem, it does not justify a significantly higher price per kilowatt-hour. Just a penny difference in price makes for two-person household about 35 euros a year, that is, after three years, for example, a 100-euro change bonus would be balanced, then wins the electricity provider. Often, the billing bonus is linked to conditions, such as a minimum revenue from the purchase of electricity. Here again, applies that one should know his (constant) power consumption very well. It makes a difference whether the bonus is granted at the beginning or at the end of the contract period, or whether the bonus is tied to a contract extension.
Bonuses in the form of rewards such as Amazon vouchers are becoming increasingly popular. Bonuses, which are not ready for payment until after one year, like to be forgotten by the provider, as the customer must at least follow. Well, if you’ve saved any written information about your bonus entitlement. Always keep in mind that you are rarely really given something. If you offer a bonus, you will get this investment elsewhere in some hidden way back, because the companies are in sharp competition with each other and have to calculate all tough. Anyone who would rather be bound long-term anyway, because the constant electricity provider Wechsel is rather annoying for him, has the option of clicking away the checkmark next to the field “Bonus” on the search screen of the electricity provider comparison.
This will make the list of offers more manageable and you can be relatively sure that hidden costs for bonus financing are not included here. But who has no problem with it, if necessary every year to read the fine print comparison of electricity providers, can certainly earn a reasonable pocket money when collecting the bonuses. The so-called “austerity hopping” is even legitimate according to a judgment of the Federal Court, which states that electricity providers must, of course, pay the promised bonuses to short-term customers. The most important aspects briefly summarized:
- Read the terms of the contract, including the fine print, carefully.
- Special care with electricity packages, advance payment, deposits.
- Avoid contract periods of more than one year.
- Prefer very short notice periods.
- Be very critical of enticing bonuses.
- Find out more about the green electricity provider.
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