BERLIN, April 1 (Xinhua) -- Gas prices for private households in Germany in the second half (H2) of 2021 rose by 6.6 percent compared with the first half of the year, the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) said on Friday.
"The rise in wholesale energy costs for natural gas was also clearly felt by households as early as the second half of 2021," Destatis noted.
Small households in Germany with annual consumption of less than 20 gigajoules recorded a particularly sharp increase in prices per kilowatt hour of 9.6 percent. This was due to energy and supply costs which increased by 26.5 percent.
For non-household customers, such as companies and public authorities without value added taxes (VAT) and other recoverable taxes, gas prices even rose by 51.8 percent in H2, according to Destatis.
Due to shorter-term procurement strategies and short price commitments, large consumers were more impacted by the "massive price increases in wholesale and on the natural gas exchanges since the end of 2020," Destatis noted.
To ensure energy supplies in the coming winter, Germany last Friday passed an amendment to the law introducing level requirements for gas storage facilities, obliging all operators in the country to gradually fill their storage facilities. ■
