I'm a simple emigrant and I don't economize on electricity

Recently I was asked about electricity prices, and whether I freeze in Germany countless times. I’ll answer right away – I’ve been freezing since I moved. I didn’t wear warm clothes at home before. In the summer, it’s hot in the apartments in Tyumen, and by the winter season the central heating is turned on as early as mid-September and they heat it so much that with photo wallpapers and a cassette with sounds of the tide you could believe you’re lying in Turkey. I also lived in Mexico; there’s not much to say about that—you just think about how else to undress to feel less hot. In Germany, in the first 24 m² apartments, heating was included in the total cost, and the room heated up in a second. But now the apartment is bigger, there is almost no furniture, it takes quite a while to warm up, and I have to wear sweaters and hoodies at home. But I don’t cut back on electricity. Yes, indeed electricity tariffs in Germany have risen twofold, and for some as much as threefold. Let’s put it in numbers: in 2018, on average 1 kWh cost 30 euro cents; in online calculators for a two-person household, annual consumption is about 2,500 kWh, i.e., about €750 per year. Now the price for 1 kWh is about 50 cents, or €1,250 per year. On a monthly basis, that means an overcharge of about €40—not little, but certainly not so much that it would drive a woman to go into prostitution to cover the bills. By the way, the water situation is even better, which means that children in kindergartens don’t go to the toilet in plastic bags to save money. Now the good news. First, if for objective reasons you can’t cope with such price increases, the local government will help you financially or with concessions. When it all started, every working person was simply given €300, though taxes on that money were not forgotten either… Secondly, already now a decision has been made to limit electricity prices to 40 euro cents per kWh from the first quarter of 2023; concessions will also be introduced for industry. And finally, you can always go outside to warm up for free, which is what I’m doing now in Portugal, but that’s another story. And did you notice the rise in utility tariffs this year? #useful