The German energy group EnBW plans to raise retail gas prices by an average of 38% to €13.5c/kWh starting from 1 December 2022 due to higher procurement costs, increasing the bill for a typical household with an annual consumption of 20,000 kWh by €768 per year. Gas prices on the wholesale markets averaged around €2c/kWh in previous years, while they have already increased fivefold to about €11c/kWh so far in 2022. EnBW's gas sale amounted to 265 TWh in 2021, which makes the company the largest gas distributor in the country.
Earlier in October 2022, the German Independent Commission for Natural Gas and Heat proposed a new €96bn new subsidy scheme starting in 2023 designed to cap gas bills for households and enterprises. From March 2023 to the end of April 2024, private households would pay €12c/kWh for the first 80% of the previous year’s use of gas. From 1 January 2023 until the end of April 2024, industrial tariff for 70% of the prior year's use would be set at €7/kWh. In addition, the commission proposed a one-off payment to cover the gas bill for all households and small to medium sized business in Germany for the month of December 2022.