Posted22 September 2022, 10:53
Luxembourg“My gas advance has almost tripled in one year”
LUXEMBOURG – The explosion of gas installments is difficult for many households.
Residents face a significant increase in gas prices.
The tripartite agreement provides that the price of gas will not increase by more than 15% compared to the current price. Something to reassure, at least partially, worried households. “My gas deposit has already gone up from 156 to 350 euros last March. It’s already a lot and I was really worried about the future. How to get out of it if it had reached 600 euros? We also have all the other bills: 350 euros for electricity, 1,200 credit for the house, fuel and I am overdrawn every month”.
Learning Thursday that the price of gas would soon be capped in Luxembourg, Stéphanie * had less weight on her shoulders, even if she remains cautious “as long as the measure is not effective”. A bank employee, she lives in a house in Strassen with her son and her husband. “We are middle class,” she says.
“Avoiding unpleasant surprises for the customer”
Like this family, many have seen their deposits explode in recent months. “I went from 416 euros to 1,135 euros for two months. Like many people, it has almost tripled in one year,” says Tom de Niederfeulen.
“The new advances are calculated on the basis of the new tariff in force and in relation to the customer’s historical consumption. The adaptation is done to avoid excessive sums being paid by our customers during the annual statement”, emphasizes SudEnergie. Enovos adopts the same precautionary principle. “It is important for us to be as close as possible to the real result. We want to avoid unpleasant surprises for the customer”. The gas law imposes the same rules on SudEnergie, which “always tries to discuss with customers on the telephone a staggered payment plan”. Since the beginning of the year, the average down payment with this supplier was 2,300 euros per year.
15% increase
The announced and dreaded doubling of the price from October should ultimately be contained to a 15% increase under the three-party agreement. A relief because the planned increases were dizzying. For a typical household of 4 people with an average consumption of 3,300 m³/year (36,300 kWh/a) the total annual cost including tax should have risen from October to approximately 5,400 euros (without network costs, currently subsidized by the State) against 3,050 euros per year at the current rate. The price should finally be blocked, in this example, around 3,500 euros annually.
“At home, we started to monitor the temperature of each room, says Stéphanie. We even turn off the heating in some. We no longer take baths but showers and I go to a cheaper store for shopping because I was going out with a 400 euro shopping cart”. If she knows she is more favored than others, the mother recognizes that she already has difficult ends of the month today.
*Name has been changed
When can the gas be turned off?
Enovos ensures that it has not yet observed an increase in the number of disputes over invoices. Regarding unpaid invoices, a procedure applies, says Enovos. In case of non-payment, three reminders are sent to the customer. If the customer does not react, a final fourth reminder is sent, accompanied by a notification to the competent social office for the place of residence of the customer. If the customer is eligible, the social office can, if necessary, take charge of the invoice. This procedure applies to residential customers. “The inclusion of the social office in this approach must precisely exclude the possibility of cutting off the supply to families in precariousness”, insists Enovos. In general, energy suppliers do not cut off supply to customers during the cold period, even in the event of non-payment.
