State emergency aid for gas customers
In order to provide short-term relief for households and smaller commercial customers, the Federal Government has decided to grant gas customers state emergency aid from federal funds in the month of December 2022. This is intended as compensation for the increased energy bills in 2022 and to bridge the time until the planned introduction of the gas price brake next spring.
The so-called December emergency aid corresponds to one twelfth of the individual annual consumption forecast in September 2022, multiplied by the gas price valid on 1 December 2022.
In the first step, customers do not have to realize their natural gas installment for the month of December 2022. If there is a difference in amount between the installment and the calculated emergency aid, this will be compensated for in the second step via the annual consumption bill of the following year. In this way, no one will loose money.
We will implement the complete relief planned by the federal government for our customers and have compiled important information on this topic for you below.
How to get the December emergency aid for natural gas
The December emergency aid applies to customers who, on 1 December 2022, are supplied by us with natural gas.
The way in which you receive the relief from the emergency aid in December depends on the payment method you have chosen for the instalments.
Your December instalment will not be debited.
If you have granted us a SEPA direct debit mandate, we will suspend the debiting of your natural gas instalment for December 2022. You don't have to do anything. this will be done automatically.
If you transfer your monthly instalment as a standing order, you have two options.
- Change your standing order if you do not want that the instalment for December be transferred to us or
- Leave the standing order as it is. In that case, the December natural gas instalment amount will be transferred to us. Please note that you will receive your balance with your next annual consumption bill.
If you transfer your gas instalments monthly or pay via our pay machines, you simply suspend payment for December and continue in January 2023. If you have already paid the amount for December, you will receive the balance with your next annual consumption bill.
Do you pay your natural gas consumption as part of the service charges to your landlord?
In this case, the relief is passed on by the landlord to their tenants with the next heating cost statement.
How does the December emergency aid work?
In this video, Ines Eckert (head of corporate communications) explains how the December emergency aid works for gas- and district heating customers.
Saving energy is still the call of the hour
Even if the natural gas storage tanks are currently well filled - the heating season has begun, and the temperatures are dropping. We have put together a few energy-saving tips. Perhaps you find the one or other useful. This would be good for you and your wallet.
Click here if you want to find out about our tips for saving energyEmergency aid for larger companies and institutions
The Erdgas-Wärme-Soforthilfegesetz (EWSG) (engl.: Act on Gas- and Heat Emergency Aid) regulates in § 2 par. 1 which larger companies and institutions receive emergency aid. Regardless of their consumption, larger consumers such as the housing industry and, for example, care and rehabilitation facilities as well as educational and scientific institutions are specifically considered. Here, too, the relief amounts to a twelth part of the individual annual consumption from November 2021 until October 2022 (inclusive).