FRANKFURT (Thomson Financial) - At least 126 utility companies are using a change in electrical pricing oversight to raise their prices to consumers, with prices rising on average by 8 pct, reported the consumer advocate website Verivox.de.
Among the larger utilities that will be raising their prices are Vattenfall Europe AG, Envia Mitteldeutsche Energie AG, and the Dusseldorf public utility service. Germany's two largest utility companies, E.ON AG and RWE AG, who together service around 18 mln German households, do not plan to raise their prices.
On July 1, pricing oversight which individual states exercised over utilities was ended. Critics said that it was an ineffective form of pricing control.
The VDEW, the German electricity industry association, estimates that electricity prices will on average raise by 5 pct in 2007, with future increases almost certain.
'The days of cheap energy are gone,' VDEW President Werner Brinker said. Tyler.Sitte@thomson.com ts/ro COPYRIGHT Copyright AFX News Limited 2007. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of AFX News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of AFX News.