Consumers - Ista expects tenants to pay more for oil and gas
According to a forecast by energy service provider Ista, many rental households can expect heating costs to rise significantly in the current heating period. Ista cites increased consumption and significantly higher costs for oil and gas as the reasons for this. For district heating, however, Ista expects lower costs.
From September to November, the consumption of heating energy by private households increased by twelve percent compared to the same period last year, adjusted for weather conditions, reported the company in Berlin. Heat consumption was therefore at least at the same level as before the energy crisis. "The more economical behavior of last winter has not been repeated so far this year," it said. People are heating more generously again, explained Ista boss Hagen Lessing according to the press release.
Supposed safety for consumers
"Consumers are apparently lulled by the supposed security of lower energy prices," Lessing continued. In reality, however, the price level for oil and gas this winter is significantly higher overall than last year.
Wholesale prices for heating oil and natural gas have fallen again since the respective peaks last year. Nevertheless, the cost of natural gas is expected to rise by around 61 percent and heating oil by around 34 percent in the current heating period. "There is a real cost trap lurking here for many tenants," says Lessing.
The increases are based on the average prices of 7.4 cents per kilowatt hour of natural gas and 9.3 cents per kilowatt hour of heating oil calculated by Ista for 2022 in bills for 2.7 million apartments. For district heating, on the other hand, Ista expects a decrease of 24 percent - starting from 12.5 cents per kilowatt hour in 2022.
The "Heiz-O-Meter" as a new monitoring tool
In this context, the Ista CEO referred to a new, publicly accessible monitoring tool for displaying current heat consumption, the "Heiz-O-Meter", which was to be presented in Berlin. It is fed with current monthly heating data from around 350,000 households in Germany. The actual heating energy consumption of the previous month is determined from this data in the middle of each month throughout Germany, in the individual federal states and in the 20 largest cities. "This produces up-to-date, representative, weather-adjusted and comparable values," it said. The company advertised that this would enable rental households to better classify their current heating behavior based on the general consumption trend.
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- Despite the decrease in wholesale prices for heating oil and natural gas, Ista predicts an increase of around 61% for natural gas and 34% for heating oil during the current heating period in Germany.
- The increase in heating costs for tenants is a significant concern, with Ista boss Hagen Lessing warning of a "real cost trap" due to these price increases.
- The consumption of heating energy by private households has increased by 12% since September in North Rhine-Westphalia, according to Ista's data from Berlin.
- In an effort to help consumers better understand their heating consumption, Ista is presenting a new monitoring tool called the "Heiz-O-Meter" in Berlin.
- The real estate market in Berlin and North Rhine-Westphalia is likely to be impacted by these rising heating costs, as tenants may be unable to afford increased energy bills.
- Many tenants may need to seek alternative sources of heat, such as using oil or gas for heating instead of district heating, due to these price increases.
- The German gas industry is also facing challenges, with higher production costs and lower demand from industry due to energy efficiency measures, leading to a potential surplus of gas in the market.
Source: www.stern.de
