When your electricity or gas supplier wants to raise the price, you usually get a letter. The supplier has to keep to certain deadlines, and in this situation you have a special right to cancel. Here are the main points in plain language (as of 16 October 2026).
How early must the supplier tell you?
That depends on your contract. In basic supply (Grundversorgung), the supplier must notify you by letter six weeks before the change and also announce it publicly, for example online. According to the consumer advice centre (Verbraucherzentrale), the increase is not effective without that public announcement (1).
For a special tariff contract (Sondervertrag), the notice must in most cases arrive at least one month in advance, usually by letter. An email is enough only if that was agreed in the contract (1).
A note in a customer portal alone is not sufficient. The Federal Court of Justice (BGH) ruled this way on 21 October 2025 (EnZR 97/23) (1).
The special right to cancel
- The supplier must point out your special right to cancel in the notice. It applies whatever the reason for the increase (1).
- Your cancellation must reach the supplier before the increase takes effect. Example: if the price rises on 1 January, it must be there by 31 December (1).
- The Verbraucherzentrale notes that you can cancel yourself instead of asking a new supplier to do it (1).
- A bonus may be lost if it depends on a full year of supply (1).
What you can check
- Did the notice arrive on time and in the right form?
- Does it mention the right to cancel?
- Does it compare old and new price components, such as network charges, taxes, levies and surcharges? According to the BGH, this is required (1).
According to the Verbraucherzentrale, price parts that are not valid can be withheld or reclaimed within three years of the invoice date (1).
More on switching is in our guide: Electricity and gas: switch supplier.
Note: we do not give advice and do not recommend any particular supplier or tariff. The decision is yours.
Sources
- Verbraucherzentrale: “Preiserhöhungen bei Strom und Gas – was ist erlaubt?”, verbraucherzentrale.de (page dated 19 Nov 2025; checked 16 Oct 2026).