Households in Germany should prepare to dig deeper in their pockets to cover their heating bills as we head into autumn and winter, after a new report produced a grim prognosis for the rest of the year. 

Gas heating bills to rise by 13 percent, oil bills by 44 percent

Several factors are combining to ensure that many households in Germany will face significantly higher heating costs this year. According to a report by the non-profit consulting firm co2online, rising energy prices, cooler weather and the new tax on CO2 will cause heating prices to rise by an average of 13 percent by the end of the year for homes powered by gas boilers. Last year, heating costs fell by 5 percent. 

For homes fitted with an oil-powered heating system, the increase is set to be even more severe, with co2online predicting that bills will go up by as much as 44 percent by the end of the year, after decreasing by 27 percent last year. 

Gas and energy prices likely to rise with Germany’s CO2 tax

Co2online’s managing director, Tanja Loitz, suggested that households in Germany could save up to 490 euros a year by switching to renewable energy. She added that oil and gas would only continue to get more expensive in the future, with the federal government’s CO2 tax due to rise further in coming years. 

The study examined 123.000 data sets from homes with central heating. Almost every other home in Germany is heated with gas, according to figures from the Federal Association of Energy and Water Management, while a quarter of homes have oil-powered heating systems.