Starting from 2025, gas consumers will be required to cover increased costs.
Notice for gas users: Gas providers are significantly hiking their fees starting from the new year. Therefore, gas consumers can anticipate higher expenses. In six federal states, gas prices are surging dramatically.
Gas users who rely on heating should be prepared for increased expenses: Gas providers are significantly upticking network fees from 2025, as per consumer portal Verivox, which currently averages at 23%. For a typical single-family home consuming 20,000 kilowatt hours annually, this translates to about 103 extra Euros gross. A private household's gas price could potentially grow by around 5%.
So far, the 2025 network fees from two-thirds of the gas providers have been disclosed. As per energy data provider Ene's analysis, household fees for 7,000 kilowatt hours yearly consumption are rising approximately 20%, and for 20,000 kilowatt hours, around 23%. Network usage fees cover line operation and maintenance costs, together with meter installation, reading, and billing expenses. According to the Federal Network Agency, network fees presently contribute around 10% to a gas price. "Since gas networks are monopolies, and network fees are state-controlled, households can't dodge the higher costs as gas suppliers usually pass on the network fees directly to their customers," explained energy expert Thorsten Storck from Verivox. He forecasts gas prices to escalate towards the end of the year.
New regulations permit hike in network fees
The increase in network fees is enabled due to new depreciation rules, set by the Federal Network Agency in September 2024, as per Verivox. Gas network operators can now factor in the potential shutdown of their gas networks as early as 2035 during depreciation. This leads to a rise in gas network fees. Verivox reports that several network operators have announced substantial increases, particularly in new federal states like Saxony-Anhalt, Saxony, and Brandenburg.
In Lower Saxony, Bremen, and Baden-Württemberg, gas network fees are also escalating considerably. The steepest hike is 56%, equating to an extra 445 Euros gross for 20,000 kilowatt hours consumption.
On the flip side, electricity network fees are likely to experience considerable reductions next year. As per Ene't, around 84% of electricity network operators have already provided their data, and private customer fees are projected to decrease by up to 9%.
For a household with 4,000 kilowatt hours consumption, the fee will decrease from around 484 Euros currently to around 440 Euros. On average, network fees account for around a quarter of the total electricity costs for private households.
Given the rising network fees for gas providers, affected consumers should expect an increase in their gas expenses. The anticipated hike in network fees, enabled by new depreciation rules, could result in higher gas prices for households, particularly in certain federal states like Saxony-Anhalt, Saxony, and Brandenburg. Meanwhile, the reverse trend is expected for electricity network fees, with potential reductions for consumers in 2025.
