Der Stromanbieter verrechnet das Guthaben mit der Nachzahlung.

Here verrechnen means to offset, to apply one amount against another, or to settle one sum with another.

So in this sentence, the electricity provider is not just calculating something. They are taking the credit (das Guthaben) and using it to reduce or balance out the additional amount due (die Nachzahlung).

A natural English idea is:

The electricity provider offsets the credit against the additional payment due.

Be careful: verrechnen can mean different things in different contexts. For example, sich verrechnen means to miscalculate.

Der Stromanbieter is the subject of the sentence, so it is in the nominative case.

• der Stromanbieter = the electricity provider
• Stromanbieter is a masculine noun, so in the nominative singular the article is der

The sentence structure is:

• Der Stromanbieter = subject
• verrechnet = verb
• das Guthaben = direct object
• mit der Nachzahlung = prepositional phrase

Guthaben is a neuter noun, so its article is das.

Here it is also the direct object of verrechnen, so it is in the accusative case. Since neuter singular has the same article in nominative and accusative, it stays das.

So:

• nominative: das Guthaben
• accusative: das Guthaben

In meaning, Guthaben usually refers to a credit balance, money in your favor, or an amount you have overpaid / are owed back.

Because mit always takes the dative case.

The noun Nachzahlung is feminine:

• nominative: die Nachzahlung
• dative: der Nachzahlung

So:

• mit die Nachzahlung = incorrect
• mit der Nachzahlung = correct

This is one of the most important things to memorize in German: certain prepositions always require a specific case, and mit always requires dative.

Die Nachzahlung means an additional payment, balance due, or payment that has to be made afterward.

This often happens with utility bills in Germany. You pay an estimated amount regularly, and later the company checks the real usage:

• if you paid too much, you get a Guthaben (credit)
• if you paid too little, you owe a Nachzahlung (additional payment)

So the sentence suggests that a credit is being applied against an amount that still has to be paid.

This is a very common question.

• berechnen = to calculate
• verrechnen = to offset / settle / charge against

Examples:

• Die Firma berechnet die Kosten.
  = The company calculates the costs.

• Die Firma verrechnet das Guthaben mit der Nachzahlung.
  = The company offsets the credit against the additional payment.

So berechnen is about working out the numbers, while verrechnen here is about applying one amount to another.

Because this is a normal main clause in German, and German main clauses usually follow the V2 rule: the finite verb comes in the second position.

Here the order is:

1. Der Stromanbieter
2. verrechnet
3. das Guthaben
4. mit der Nachzahlung

If you move another element to the front, the verb still stays in second position:

• Das Guthaben verrechnet der Stromanbieter mit der Nachzahlung.
• Mit der Nachzahlung verrechnet der Stromanbieter das Guthaben.

These are less neutral, but grammatically possible.

No, verrechnen in this meaning is not separable.

That is why you get:

• Der Stromanbieter verrechnet das Guthaben ...
• Der Stromanbieter hat das Guthaben mit der Nachzahlung verrechnet.

You do not split it like a separable verb.

Also note again that sich verrechnen is a different usage meaning to make a calculation mistake:

• Ich habe mich verrechnet.
  = I miscalculated.

Grammatically yes, mit literally means with, but in this sentence the meaning is closer to against or by means of in English financial language.

So a literal translation like The provider offsets the credit with the additional payment is understandable, but in natural English, against often sounds better:

The provider offsets the credit against the additional payment due.

This is a good reminder that prepositions often do not match one-to-one between German and English.

Not really. That sounds unnatural or misleading in English.

The German sentence means that one amount is being applied to or set off against another. Better translations are:

• The electricity provider offsets the credit against the additional payment.
• The electricity provider applies the credit to the amount due.
• The electricity provider balances the credit against the outstanding payment.

So the basic idea is not charging but reducing one amount by another.

Yes, it is a normal German compound noun.

It is made from:

• Strom = electricity
• Anbieter = provider / supplier

So Stromanbieter literally means electricity provider or electricity supplier.

German uses compound nouns very freely, so learners often benefit from breaking them apart:

• Gasanbieter = gas provider
• Internetanbieter = internet provider
• Mobilfunkanbieter = mobile phone provider

Not necessarily. The sentence itself only says that the credit is being offset against the additional payment.

That could mean different things depending on the amounts:

• if the Guthaben is smaller than the Nachzahlung, the customer still has to pay something
• if the Guthaben is equal to the Nachzahlung, nothing remains
• if the Guthaben is larger than the Nachzahlung, there may still be credit left over

So the sentence describes the accounting action, not the final result.

Sometimes you may see other structures depending on style and context, but verrechnen ... mit ... is a very standard pattern.

For example:

• etwas mit etwas verrechnen
  = to offset one thing against another

In other contexts, German might use verbs like:

• anrechnen auf = apply to
• abziehen von = deduct from

But for this sentence, das Guthaben mit der Nachzahlung verrechnen is idiomatic and natural.