Full price guarantee
All price components are fixed for the guarantee period. Usually only a legal change in VAT is excluded. This type offers the best protection.
Guide · As of 2026
Price increase? How to use your special termination right
If your electricity or gas supplier announces higher prices, you do not simply have to accept them. The law gives you a special termination right (Sonderkündigungsrecht) without a notice period. Here you can read which deadlines apply, what to look for in the letter and how to respond step by step.
- § 41 EnWG
- Special termination right
- Basic supply
- Price guarantee
- Deadlines
The rules: special contract and basic supply
Which deadlines apply depends on whether you have a special contract (Sondervertrag) or are in basic supply (Grundversorgung). This is shown on your bill.
Special contract (§ 41 Abs. 5 EnWG)
- The supplier must inform household customers no later than one month before the price change.
- The notice must be simple and easy to understand and state the reason, conditions and extent of the change.
- It must point out your right to end the contract.
- You can cancel without observing a notice period. A fee for cancelling is not allowed.
- A one-sided right to change prices must be validly agreed in the contract.
Basic supply (§ 5 StromGVV and GasGVV)
- Changes must be publicly announced at least six weeks in advance.
- At the same time, the default supplier must send you a letter and publish the change on its website.
- New prices always take effect from the start of a month.
- You can cancel without notice with effect from the date of the change. Regardless of this, basic supply can be cancelled at any time with two weeks' notice.
- If, within one month of your cancellation, you prove that you have signed a new contract, the change does not apply to you.
What counts as a price change
A price increase occurs when the supplier raises the unit price (Arbeitspreis, the price per kilowatt hour) or the standing charge (Grundpreis). However, the special termination right does not only apply then. Under § 41 Abs. 5 EnWG, it applies to every one-sided change to the contract terms, meaning every change that the supplier makes without your consent. According to the consumer advice centre (Verbraucherzentrale), it usually also applies if the increase is justified by higher network charges (Netzentgelte), levies or surcharges.
There is an exception for VAT: if the legislator changes the tax rate and the supplier passes this on unchanged, it does not have to inform you in advance. This does not create a special termination right. The same applies if it passes on lower taxes, levies, surcharges or network charges to you unchanged (§ 41 Abs. 6 EnWG).
An adjustment of your monthly instalments (Abschläge) is not a price change. The monthly instalment is only a prepayment. If it goes up because you use more, your price does not change.
For a special contract, the following applies: if the notice arrives too late or is missing completely, the increase is usually invalid and the previous prices continue to apply (Federal Court of Justice, Bundesgerichtshof, decision of 10 October 2024). This does not create a later special termination right. In basic supply, the consumer advice centre takes the view that an increase without a letter is not automatically invalid; it is invalid, however, if the public announcement six weeks in advance is missing. In such cases, get advice, for example from the consumer advice centre.
Price guarantee: what is really fixed?
Many tariffs advertise a price guarantee. How well it protects you is set out in the contract terms. Make sure the guarantee lasts at least as long as the initial contract term.
Limited price guarantee
Procurement, sales and usually the network charges are fixed. If taxes, levies or surcharges rise, the supplier may pass this on. Your special termination right still remains in this case.
Guarantee on the energy price only
Only the part that the supplier sets itself is guaranteed. Network charges, taxes, levies and surcharges can change. This is the weakest protection.
No price guarantee
The supplier may change the prices within the limits of the contract and the law. It must keep to the deadlines, and you can use your special termination right with every change.
Step by step: how to respond
Stay calm and act within the deadline. With these steps, you will not miss a date.
- 01
Read the letter carefully
Write down when the letter or email arrived, from when the new prices apply and how big the change is. Work out what the increase means for your annual consumption. Keep the letter.
- 02
Check the deadlines
In a special contract, the notice must arrive at least one month in advance; in basic supply, six weeks in advance. According to the consumer advice centre, a notice that only appears in the customer portal is not enough.
- 03
Read your meter
Read the meter on the day of the price change, take a photo and report the reading. This way, your consumption is assigned exactly to the old and the new price.
- 04
Compare offers
Take your annual consumption from your last bill and compare the unit price, standing charge, contract term and price guarantee. Sometimes the offer from your current supplier is still suitable despite the increase.
- 05
Cancel yourself in good time
Cancel in text form (Textform), for example by email or letter. According to the consumer advice centre, the cancellation must reach the supplier before the new prices apply. For an increase on 1 January, this means by 31 December at the latest. For a special termination, it is best to cancel yourself rather than asking the new supplier to do it.
- 06
Check the confirmations
In a special contract, your current supplier must confirm your cancellation in text form within one week and state the end date of the contract (§ 41b Abs. 1 EnWG). Also check the confirmation from the new supplier with the start date of supply.
No need to fear a gap in supply
Many people are afraid of being without electricity or gas after a special termination. This does not happen. If your contract ends before the new supplier starts supplying you, the local default supplier (Grundversorger) continues to supply you. If a switch fails, substitute supply (Ersatzversorgung) steps in, which is also provided by the default supplier. This interim period can be more expensive than your new tariff, but it is usually short.
For electricity, the technical switch has been possible on any working day within 24 hours since 6 June 2025. Since 1 January 2026, § 20a EnWG has required the 24-hour switch for both electricity and gas. For gas, however, the network operators are still adapting their processes. So allow a little more time for gas, just to be safe.
Your new supplier must confirm to you without delay in text form whether and from when it will supply you. Cancelling and switching cost you nothing as a household customer.
If you would like support, we will compare the tariffs of the suppliers we work with together with you, by phone or via Microsoft Teams. It is best to send the special termination to your current supplier yourself.
Checklist for a price increase
- Date the notice was received written down
- Date of the price change and new prices marked
- Extra costs for your annual consumption worked out
- Checked whether you are in basic supply or in a special contract
- Price guarantee in the contract checked: is the increased component excluded?
- Meter reading taken and photographed on the key date
- New offers compared
- Cancellation sent in text form in good time and proof kept
- Cancellation confirmation and start date of supply from the new supplier received
Frequently asked questions
By when do I have to cancel after a price increase?
The cancellation must reach the supplier before the new prices apply. For an increase on 1 January, this means by 31 December at the latest. Send the cancellation early and in text form so that you can prove it was received.
Does the special termination right also apply with a price guarantee?
Yes. If the supplier raises an excluded component despite a price guarantee, for example a surcharge, you can usually still use your special termination right. But first check whether your guarantee allows the increase at all.
Will I lose my bonus if I use my special termination right?
This can happen if the bonus is linked to a minimum term. However, the consumer advice centres consider it invalid to exclude the bonus after a justified cancellation, for example after a price increase. Calculate whether switching is still worth it.
What if I did not receive a notice?
For a special contract, an increase without timely notice is usually invalid. Object in writing and only pay the extra amount under reservation; the consumer advice centre offers a template letter for this. In basic supply, it depends on whether the increase was publicly announced six weeks in advance.
Is there also a right to cancel when prices go down?
With one-sided changes, the special termination right generally applies in this case too. There is no right to cancel if the supplier only passes on a change in VAT or lower taxes, levies, surcharges or network charges unchanged (§ 41 Abs. 6 EnWG).
Can I cancel basic supply even without a price increase?
Yes. You can cancel basic supply at any time with two weeks' notice (§ 20 StromGVV and GasGVV). A price increase is not needed for this.
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Open the calculatorSources
- Gesetze im Internet: § 41 EnWG – energy supply contracts with final consumers
- Gesetze im Internet: Energy Industry Act (EnWG), §§ 20a and 41b
- Gesetze im Internet: Electricity Basic Supply Ordinance (StromGVV), §§ 5 and 20
- Gesetze im Internet: Gas Basic Supply Ordinance (GasGVV), §§ 5 and 20
- Verbraucherzentrale: Electricity and gas price increases – what is allowed?
- Verbraucherzentrale: What to look out for with bonus tariffs for electricity and gas
- Bundesnetzagentur: Switching supplier
- Verbraucherzentrale Hamburg: Electricity and gas – how to switch supplier
Get personal advice
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