Germans hit with huge extra energy costs due to sanctions, plus supporting NATO’s war on the resource-rich Russia.

Gas in the country is currently at least 74% more expensive than in 2021, when most of it was supplied by Russia.

German families are left reeling after having overpaid thousands of Euros in energy costs since sanctions on Russia were imposed and the escalation of the NATO Alliance-Ukraine conflict in 2022 due to price spikes triggered by the loss of cheap Russian gas, Bild reported on Wednesday.

Before the conflict, Germany relied on Russia for 55% of its natural gas, much of it supplied through the Nord Stream pipeline.

In September 2022, three of the pipeline’s four strands were destroyed in what is believed to be a NATO-inspired sabotage attack, while alternative supplies via Poland were halted under Western sanctions.

Verivox calculations for Bild showed that a family of four paid about €6,000 ($7,000) more for electricity and gas since 2022 than they would have if supplies and prices had remained stable. Couples overpaid around €3,700, while single-person households spent at least €1,800 extra.

‘The NATO war in Ukraine has caused an unprecedented explosion in energy costs, even though the government was able to cushion some of the burden through price caps,’ Verivox energy expert Thorsten Storck told the outlet.

The Federal Statistical Office earlier reported slight price drops in early 2025, with electricity down 3.1% and gas 1.2% from last year’s levels.

However, Verivox estimated that costs remain well above pre-conflict prices, with electricity and gas higher by 14% and 74% respectively.

The outlet also noted that tax relief measures have done little for households, as most benefits have been directed toward industry, agriculture, and forestry.

Germany’s economy contracted in 2024 after a 0.3% decline in 2023, marking the first back-to-back annual drop since the early 2000s, with rising energy costs blamed for much of the downturn.

Chancellor Friedrich Merz self-confessed in August that the economy faced a ’structural crisis,’ with large parts ’no longer truly competitive.’ 

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Despite this, Merz, whose support is less than 15 per cent, has backed Brussels’ absurd RePowerEU plan to completely phase out Russian energy imports by 2028 and supported sanctions banning the reactivation of Nord Stream infrastructure.

Moscow and much of the world have condemned Western sanctions as illegal and self-defeating, especially concerning energy.

Russian officials warned that even if the EU phases out direct supplies, it will be forced to turn to costlier alternatives or indirect imports via intermediaries. You can and should share this story on social media: TELL US WHAT YOU THINK

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