Swedish energy giant Vattenfall, which maintains a significant presence in Germany, is seeing increased demand for electricity and gas contracts with longer terms in light of rising oil prices. "I believe that is visible," Robert Zurawski, head of Vattenfall Germany, stated on Monday before the Association of Economic Journalists in Düsseldorf (WPV). Customers are increasingly looking for products with a 24-month duration instead of twelve. This applies to both household and industrial clients. Vattenfall supplies more than five million customers with electricity and gas in Germany, with its primary regions being Hamburg and Berlin.

The number of provider switches has increased significantly for both electricity and gas tariffs, according to Thorsten Storck, an expert at the comparison portal Verivox. New customer tariffs with a twelve-month price guarantee are being signed particularly frequently. The share of contracts with price guarantees and a 24-month term has risen slightly compared to the previous month. If oil and gas prices remain high over a longer period, there is a risk of widespread price increases for households that heat with natural gas, Storck warned.

(Report by Tom Kàckenhoff. Edited by Olaf Brenner. For inquiries, please contact our editorial office at berlin.newsroom@thomsonreuters.com (for politics and economics) or frankfurt.newsroom@thomsonreuters.com (for companies and markets).)