And: Germans are used to getting their energy bill once a year and then pay 1/12 of the amount for the next year in advance every month. Sometimes the difference between the bill and the prepayment really hurts - but this time it's going to be catastrophic. Not only for the consumers, but also for the utilities, who can barely collect all of the money.

I wonder if this has anything to do with shutting down nuclear- and coal-fired power plants.