Electricity prices for households feel 2025 delays market stabilization
Published: Monday, Jul 29th 2024, 12:20
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Electricity prices for Swiss households are likely to fall again slightly in the coming year after rising sharply last year and this year. The approximately 600 Swiss energy suppliers with end customers have until the end of August to report their tariffs for the coming year to the supervisory authority.
The electricity market in Germany is regulated by law for households. Suppliers can pass on their costs to customers, but can only adjust electricity tariffs once a year at the turn of the year. After the crisis year of 2022 with the start of the war in Ukraine, the Swiss had to pay an average of 27% more for electricity at the turn of 2023. At the beginning of 2024, tariffs rose by a further 18 percent.
The Association of Swiss Electricity Companies (VSE) now expects electricity prices to fall in 2025. In a survey published at the beginning of July, 75 out of 83 members stated that they would definitely or probably reduce their electricity prices in the coming year. The VSE pointed out to the news agency AWP that some basic suppliers had already publicly communicated their (falling) tariffs for the coming year. The reasons for this are the easing of market prices on the European electricity markets and lower costs for domestic electricity reserves.
According to the industry association, more than 80 percent of electricity suppliers procure energy for end customers on the market. Swiss companies would buy their energy on the market on a staggered basis and on a long-term basis two to three years in advance. As the price in the basic supply must be set by the end of August for the following year and is then valid for one year, corporate and household customers with a basic supply would benefit from the current lower market prices with a delay.
However, because not all energy suppliers procure electricity on the market, there are usually large differences in prices within Switzerland depending on the region. Some suppliers, such as BKW, supply their customers from their own power plants and are therefore more or less unaffected by market fluctuations.
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