In Saxony, savings are made particularly on heating

According to an analysis by energy service provider Ista, people in Saxony are saving particularly well on heating this winter. Since the start of the heating season, people in the Free State have been using heating energy very sparingly, Ista reported on Friday. "While the weather-adjusted national average consumption is around twelve percent higher than in the same period last year, only around seven percent more heating energy was consumed in Saxony." Bavaria also came in at seven percent. Baden- Württemberg, Rhineland-Palatinate and Thuringia followed in the top places. In a comparison of the 20 largest cities, Dresden is in third place and Leipzig is in sixth place. Ista's "Heiz-O-Meter" continuously evaluates monthly data from around 350,000 households nationwide.

According to a representative survey conducted by the opinion research institute YouGov on behalf of Ista, saving energy when heating is a relevant issue for 84 percent of people in Saxony, primarily for cost reasons. The national average is 77 percent. In contrast, protecting the environment and climate does not play a particularly important role in motivation. Only 22 percent of respondents in Saxony cited this as a reason for saving, compared to 37 percent nationwide.

The abolition of the energy price brake was considered wrong by 64 percent of respondents in Saxony, compared to the national average of 58 percent. 45 percent of Saxons are afraid that they will no longer be able to afford a warm home in the future as a result, compared to only 33 percent nationwide. Finally, 41% in Saxony expect energy costs to rise. The national average is much more optimistic, according to the report. In fact, according to Ista, prices are higher this winter than last year. "Consumers are apparently lulled into the supposed security of lower energy prices," emphasized Ista boss Hagen Lessing.

For the current heating period, fuel costs for natural gas are expected to rise by around 61 percent and for heating oil by around 34 percent nationwide compared to the average costs of the previous year and taking into account the December aid, it said. As a result, for an average apartment (70 square meters), natural gas costs are expected to rise by 71 percent or 460 euros.

In Ista's analysis, the data is anonymized, weighted and compared with data from the German Weather Service. According to Ista, this produces representative, weather-adjusted and comparable values.