Gas supplies are, thanks to the US fracking gas boom, in surplus on the market, with prices stable, while German authorities are not expected to increase taxes on energy after the new government's coalition agreement included the aim of capping the cost to customers of the exit from nuclear power known as the Energiewende.
Electricity price comparison site Toptarif shows 366 of the 850 or so electricity suppliers increasing their rates at the start of 2014, with just a handful following suit in February. A spokesman said these suppliers were raising prices by an average of 3.4 percent.
German consumers are becoming more likely to change suppliers if they do not like prices or services. A survey by YouGov pollsters showed that only a fifth of electricity consumers would rule out changing their supplier. More than a third (37 percent) said they would chose to change when prices rose.
A year ago practically all electricity companies raised their prices by double digit percentages.
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