Berlin.
The price of electricity has risen sharply recently. But how does it actually develop and what are the current forecasts? The most important information.
When it comes to heating, there are a variety of energy sources in Germany: be it oil or gas, wood pellets or sustainable alternatives such as geothermal energy.
The situation is different when it comes to electricity: Every household is dependent on electricity – the electricity prices are therefore relevant for almost everyone in Germany. In this article we have summarized the most important information about their origin, current development and various forecasts for you.
How is the electricity price determined?
The price per kWh of electricity is made up of various factors for each provider, which is why the prices can vary more or less from region to region. the factors are:
- Electricity tax (2.05 cents/kWh)
- Sales or Value Added Tax (19 percent)
- Concession fee to the municipalities
- CHP surcharge (finances electricity from combined heat and power)
- § 19 Allocation (relieves industry in network charges)
- Offshore grid surcharge (finances grid connection of offshore wind farms)
- Production and distribution costs
- Grid fees, metering, billing – the costs of transporting electricity
According to information from the Federal Association of Energy and Water Industries (BDEW), taxes, surcharges and levies alone make up around 29 percent of the electricity price today.
Network charges make reports of Compare.com according to around 22 percent of the electricity price per kWh – the actual power generation and procurement account for around 49 percent of the price per kWh. Therefore, the electricity providers’ scope for designing the price is quite limited, since a large part of the price is determined by taxes, surcharges and fees.
How has the price of electricity in Germany recently developed?
Since the start of the Ukraine war, energy prices increased significantly in Germany. This shows the comparison to the previous year.
But even before 2022, a clear upward trend in electricity prices could be observed. In the past five years, the average new customer prices per kilowatt hour (kWh) increased continuously. Our table is based on data from the comparison portal “Verivox”.
| Year | Electricity price per kWh |
|
2022 |
43.02 cents |
|
2021 |
30.73 cents |
|
2020 |
29.36 cents |
|
2019 |
29.51 cents |
|
2018 |
27.82 cents |
Current price of electricity: The price for one kWh of electricity on January 24th
How much is electricity at the moment? You can find the current electricity price for today (as of January 24) in our service article.
Forecasts: How will the price of electricity develop?
It is not always possible to predict exactly how energy prices will develop. A year ago, hardly anyone would have had one of these price explosion calculated as it has been observed in the past few months. Nevertheless, there are some experts who are intensively examining the price of electricity and who dare to make predictions.
Some of them, including the Swiss consulting firm Prognos, continue to count rising prices. In the long term, costs can be expected to fall under the right circumstances, but it could be years before that happens. (fmg)
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