- Electricity prices rise in Germany
- Consumers to pay 5.7% extra for electricity
- Germany has the most expensive electricity tariffs in Europe
Electricity consumers in Germany are set to pay more for electricity as prices have risen higher this year. With the highest electricity tariffs in Europe, Germany will see electricity consumers pay up to €30.40 for electricity this month, a 5.7% increase from last year, according to the price comparison website Verivox.
Energy Expert Thorsten Storck has attributed the increment to increasing taxes, levies and surcharges. ”The sharp rise in electricity prices over the past 20 years is primarily due to steadily increasing taxes, levies and surcharges,” Storck says. ”As long as the government does not readjust here, households will continue to pay high electricity costs in the future,” he added.
Other factors contributing to the rise in the tariffs include the implications of poor weather conditions on Germany’s renewable energy electricity generation, high CO2 emissions charges for power plant operators and low gas levels in gas storage facilities in Europe. In addition, experts suspect that the Russian gas company Gazprom, in a bid to pressure Europe into finishing the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, has shut off gas supplies to other European countries.