Bursting Your Wallet: The Unforeseen Cost Boost Due to CO2 Price Hike
Get ready to dig deeper into your pockets! The German government has decided to dramatically boost the CO2 price, going above and beyond the initially planned increase from 30 to 45 euros per tonne. What does this mean for you and your pocket?
A surprise upswing in expenses
Alright, folks, buckle up! The rising CO2 price will set you back more than ever before. Instead of the 40 euros planned, it's now 45 euros per tonne. Why? Well, in a last-minute move, the coalition government is trying to save some cash for the next fiscal year.
Impact on daily life expenses
The CO2 tax affects several sectors, like heating and transportation, leading to a hike in gasoline, heating oil, natural gas, and petrol prices. So, brace yourself. These increased costs will eventually be transferred to you, the consumer.
The North Rhine-Westphalia consumer advice center already anticipated some of these rise, but now that the CO2 tax has been raised to 45 euros, it's time to crunch some numbers and revise the calculations. Here are the estimated rises in each category:
Heating Oil
Get ready to fork over an extra 4.8 cents per liter, adding an additional 96 euros to a 2000-liter tank filling, compared to 2023. In a nutshell, the CO2 tax will set you back around 285 euros more annually for a 2000-liter consumption, if there was no CO2 tax in the first place.
Gas
Gas bills will increase 0.36 cents per kilowatt hour, ending up at 1.08 cents per kilowatt hour. If you consume 20,000 kWh per year, you will pay around 216 euros in CO2 costs yearly. An extra 75 euros compared to 2023 just because of the raised CO2 tax.
Not to mention, the price brake on gas will vanish on January 1st, leading to additional expenses of 107 euros, as VAT will also climb back to 19%.
Petrol
Petrol prices will swell by 4.2 cents per liter, bringing the full CO2 charge to about 12.8 cents per liter.
Diesel
Diesel will set you back 4.8 cents more per liter, heightening the overall CO2 price to around 14.3 cents per liter.
Electricity
Check24 is pondering electricity prices. A sum of 5.5 billion euros from the economic stabilization fund should cover the increase in grid usage fees in 2024. As a result, transmission system operators have set the nationwide grid fees for 2023 at 3.19 cents per kWh. But thanks to the elimination of that subsidy, the TSOs estimate grid fees will surge to 6.68 cents per kWh in 2024 – more than double the amount.
Considering the elimination of the subsidy, distribution system operators should revise grid fees for 2024 consumers. While including the subsidy, grid fees for electricity customers in 2024 may again rise by an average of 11% or €46 net (assuming a consumption of 5,000 kWh). On that note, a family with an electricity consumption of 5000 kWh would incur an extra 56 euros. In total, electricity grid fees will increase over 100 euros net for a family, not including VAT.
