Customers face gas bill repayment demands by TWS due to price decrease
In Ravensburg, around 1,750 customers of the Technical Works Schussental (TWS) are facing a repayment obligation for gas price brake compensation payments. The gas price brake, a government subsidy designed to help consumers with rising energy costs, has been found to have been miscalculated or incorrectly distributed to these customers.
The error in the calculation of the gas price brake compensation has led to the need for repayment. According to TWS, an audit revealed that the gas work price decreased during the billing year, but the relief amount was not reduced, as it should have been. This oversight has resulted in overpayments to affected customers.
The repayment amounts vary based on consumption, with some customers expected to pay several hundred euros each. A letter from TWS includes a demand for repayment, with an example of over 800 euros.
It is still being checked whether business customers of Stadtwerk am See in Friedrichshafen are affected. Spokesmen for Stadtwerk am See have confirmed that private customers will not be affected by repayment demands. The Stadtwerke Konstanz have also stated that they are not aware of any repayment demands.
The Consumer Center Baden-Württemberg has confirmed that the demand for repayment is permissible. The repayment is a portion of the money that the federal government paid as compensation for increased energy prices two years ago. The compensation payments of the gas price brake were set too high, leading to the need for repayment from customers who received excess compensation due to the error in the calculation.
The gas price brake is a measure designed to reduce the cost of gas for consumers. Despite the repayment demands, the energy suppliers in the Lake Constance-Oberschwaben region, including Stadtwerke Konstanz, have not made any repayment demands from other energy suppliers in the region.
This situation serves as a reminder for consumers to carefully review their energy bills and to contact their energy suppliers if they have any questions or concerns about their compensation payments.
The mistake in the gas price brake compensation has triggered the necessity for repayment among TWS customers, as the relief amount was not reduced despite a decrease in the gas work price during the billing year. This oversight resulted in overpayments to the affected customers.
The repayment situation arises from excess compensation paid to consumers due to the error in the gas price brake calculation, which was set too high by the federal government two years ago.
