Dear tenant,
Our residential properties in the Albrecht Thaer 1-52 and Straße des Friedens 17-23 residential areas are supplied with local heating. The heat is generated on site in central heating systems by the heat supplier EWE Vertrieb GmbH and billed to KWVG Hennickendorf mbH as part of your heat price tariffs. The fuel used to generate the heat is natural gas.
In addition to the pure natural gas procurement costs, the heat price is made up of other price components (e.g. basic costs, Co² taxes, electricity costs for the operation of pumps in the distribution systems, network charges, etc.), which have changed only insignificantly to date.
Due to the current price situation on the energy market, the heat supplier informed us in a letter dated 9 December 2022 of its price adjustment with effect from 1 January 2023. As a result, the heat price that EWE Vertrieb GmbH will charge KWVG Hennickendorf mbH is expected to almost quadruple.
As a similar energy price trend can be observed throughout Germany, the German government has introduced the Natural Gas Heat Price Capping Act (EWPBG), which was confirmed by the Bundesrat on 16 December 2022, in addition to the so-called emergency aid (relief in the amount of the December advance payment) already explained here, to cap energy prices for the end consumer. With regard to district and local heating, the EWPBG regulates the capping of the energy price at 9.5 ct/kWh for 80% of the forecast annual consumption. Tenants will be charged the full amount of the regular labour price of the heating tariff for consumption in excess of this. This is intended to further incentivise each tenant to save. The statutory regulation will come into force on 1 March 2023 (retroactively to 1 January 2023) and will initially end on 31 December 2023. A possible extension should be possible by statutory order.
With the introduction of the natural gas heat price brake, the federal government is thus mitigating the almost quadrupling of heat prices, so that a real cost increase of around 100% of the 2021 level can be expected for our tenants.
In the last few days, we have recalculated and sent the monthly advance heating cost payments from 1 February 2023 to tenants whose flats are heated with local heating. The regulations of the heat price brake were taken into account according to our current state of knowledge (the implementing and transposition regulations of the law are not yet available after so few days since the Federal Council's decision).
On average, our advance calculation, assuming roughly comparable consumption in previous years, showed that an increase in the current monthly advance heating cost payments of around 50% for properties supplied with local heating should rule out high additional payments for the 2023 billing year, as an approximately 30% price adjustment to the 2021 level could already be taken into account for the previous operating cost statement.
End users (tenants) do not have to make any arrangements to claim the state subsidy. The extensive application procedure is carried out by the heat supplier, i.e. EWE Vertrieb GmbH. The final settlement of the advance heating cost payments against the actual heating costs incurred will be made by KWVG Hennickendorf mbH as part of the operating cost statement for 2023 in 2024.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us using the usual contact details (by telephone, e-mail or in writing) or during our office hours.