Annual electricity bill
Stromjahresabrechnung / Jahresverbrauchsabrechnung · sent by Your electricity provider (E.ON, Vattenfall, a local Stadtwerke…)
Respond soon — routine but not ignorable
What this letter is
Your electricity provider's yearly settlement: it compares the monthly instalments (Abschlag) you paid against your meter's actual reading for the year, then bills a back-payment (Nachzahlung) or refunds a credit (Guthaben), and sets a new monthly Abschlag for the year ahead. Gas and district-heating providers send the same kind of letter.
What to do
- Check the meter reading (Zählerstand) is real, not estimated. An estimated ("geschätzt") reading is often too high — send your own current reading if so.
- A Nachzahlung is due on the stated date (usually ~2 weeks) — pay it, but query anything that looks off first.
- Watch the new Abschlag. Providers often raise the monthly instalment more than needed — you can ask to lower it if your consumption doesn't justify it.
- Switching provider is easy and normal in Germany and often far cheaper than the default Grundversorgung tariff — this letter is a good annual prompt to compare.
- Moved during the year? Make sure the reading on your move-in / move-out date matches what you noted — mismatches are the top cause of wrong bills.
General information, not legal advice. Always verify payment details on the sender's official website before transferring money.