TIMELINE-Competition in German retail energy

Dec 1 - More German households have switched electricity and gas suppliers under a European Union rule, from July 1, 2007, which gave consumers a choice of provider.

Following is a timeline of customer switches and price trends in the market of 40 million households in Europe's biggest economy. Latest entries are marked ***

Dec - Some 139 out of over 700 power distribution companies overall are planning price hikes by up to 16 percent in some cases, says Toptarif***, a consumer portal which monitors prices and encourages supplier switching. An average household consuming 4,000 kilowatt hours a year will add an average 54 euros ($81.35) more (plus 5.9 percent) to its annual bill.

At the same time, some 36 firms will be able to charge less as lower procurement prices are filtered through the system from the wholesale market into the end consumer segment, it says.

Dec - Some retail gas prices will rise again from the start of the new year, says Toptarif***. Around 73 regional firms will raise prices from January by up to 12 percent, its research shows, adding 53 firms will cut prices in December and January.

This shows a trend to lower gas prices this year in a competitive market that is petering out.

Prices are index-linked to oil and follow crude prices with a time delay. Oil's decline from last year's highs over $147 to a low of around $30 in December has been working its way through the system, but its subsequent run up to the high $70s is now also beginning to impact.

All retail gas prices monitored by Toptarif so far in the year to date had fallen by 21 percent on average, it said.

Nov - Vattenfall Europe [VATN.UL] says private customers in its core regions in Berlin and Hamburg will have to pay up to 5.9 percent and 4.4 percent more for power as from Jan. 1, citing higher fees for obtaining renewables, which is mandatory. [ID:nLI138191]

Nov - Northwestern company EWE says its power customers will have to pay 14 percent more on average, citing higher regulated transmission grid payments that it has to pass on.

Nov - RWE (RWEG.DE) and E.ON (EONGn.DE) say in contrast that they will keep their power prices steady in January for millions of households in their core regions. (Reporting by Vera Eckert; editing by James Jukwey)