Energy supplier tariffs: what electricity should cost right now

The prices on the electricity exchanges have normalized more than experts had expected. Not all suppliers pass this on to their customers. What consumers should consider when choosing tariffs.

The energy expert Claudia Kemfert from the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW) had expected the situation on the electricity markets to calm down again – “because there is enough capacity and, unlike with gas, there are no real shortages”. But she was surprised that it happened so quickly.

Only 13 cents instead of 90 cents

The expert is less surprised that electricity prices on the exchange are falling massively, even though the last nuclear power plants will go offline in just a few weeks. “That gets lost in the European noise. We could have switched them off at the beginning of the year. Then we would have had sufficient capacities.”

In particular, the FDP and CDU/CSU had called for the terms to be extended far beyond April in order to lower prices. Now, despite the imminent nuclear phase-out, the market price for future electricity volumes, which had risen to up to 90 cents per kilowatt hour last August, has recently fallen to just 13 cents.

Excessive prices at the expense of taxpayers?

If an electricity supplier calculates seriously when extending contracts or for new customers, they can offer household customers a final price starting at around 35 cents. Many providers do this too – but not all. Just the week before last, a sample of the ARD business magazine Plusminus according to the Frankfurt Mainova almost 46 cents, the Cologne Rheinenergie more than 50 cents and the Aschaffenburg public utility even more than 65 cents. Other providers act similarly.

The expert Hermann-Josef Tenhagen from “Finanztip” has a suspicion: “Anyone who demands such tariffs today has either miscalculated or tried to involve us taxpayers.” After all, the part of the price that is over 40 cents is covered by the state thanks to the electricity price brake. But that only applies to 80 percent of the previous year’s consumption. Each additional kilowatt hour must be paid for in full. That’s why customers should really switch to a provider who, with prices well below 40 cents per kilowatt hour, uses the current market prices without making unreasonably high profits for themselves.

End customer tariffs with stock exchange price fixing

There is now also a growing number of new providers who calculate the price directly based on the respective exchange electricity prices. To this they add the statutory network charges and surcharges. The resulting price per kilowatt hour changes from month to month and can currently be less than 30 cents per kilowatt hour.

Customers who had already taken out such tariffs last year suddenly had to accept massive price increases, especially in August and September – in one specific case from previously 111 euros per month to suddenly 295 euros. Consumer advocate Tenhagen therefore warns that such tariffs are really only suitable for households that can cope with such fluctuations.

However, the nightmare for these customers was already over in October, while normal electricity customers with annual contracts suddenly had to accept massive price increases for a whole following year. According to expert Kemfert, this is due to the fact that the first-named tariffs pass on price reductions directly to customers, while this often only happens with a delay with many conventional offers.

Electricity prices by time of day

Tariffs with hourly changing prices are brand new. You follow the electricity exchange directly, the course of which even fluctuates in 15-minute increments depending on current consumption and the amount of wind and solar power. So that this can serve as a basis for households, you need so-called “smart meters”. These electricity meters continuously report the respective consumption to the supplier via the Internet. Disadvantage: “Smart meters” are practically non-existent in Germany.

The electricity supplier Tibber has recently offered a small additional module that connects every digital electricity meter to the data network. Tibber’s electricity price currently fluctuates between around 17 and 36 cents depending on the time of day. The low prices are mainly reached at night, with a lot of wind and sun occasionally also at noon. High prices usually occur in the morning and evening hours.

one of Plus minus most of the customers visited by this provider charge an e-car. An app automatically ensures that this only happens at low prices. Washing machines and dishwashers in the household also have a time pre-selection, with which power consumption is automatically shifted to favorable times. According to their own statements, the household saves up to ten percent compared to the monthly stock market price tariff.

Dynamic tariffs have long been mandatory

The price at Tibber is cheap overall, because the provider really only charges the market price and statutory levies and taxes per kilowatt hour; He draws profit from a monthly basic fee of 3.99 euros alone. According to the company, which comes from Norway and Sweden, it can still work profitably because in the countries where such tariffs are already common, the network provider also pays for it: for network stabilization, which directs consumption to times when there is enough electricity in the grid net is. An effect that DIW expert Kemfert also considers important. That is why the legislature should also force the introduction of such tariffs in Germany.

In fact, even large German electricity suppliers with more than 200,000 customers have been obliged to offer such dynamic tariffs since last summer – including smart meters from the network operator. However, a sample of eleven providers shows that most of them have so far ignored this legal obligation. There are therefore no specific penalties.

The few German electricity suppliers who offer such tariffs charge such high prices that it is hardly worth it for customers. Consumer advocate Tenhagen also refers to this. Dynamic tariffs are only worthwhile for larger consumers: traders or private households with electric cars, heat pumps or the like. You should look at the corresponding offers, but be sure to pay attention to the price differences – which also exist there.