Gondo-Zischbergen.Bild: KEYSTONE
Electricity prices in Switzerland are finally going down again. The median Swiss household will pay around 10 percent less in 2025 than they currently do. But is your community one of them? Here is an overview.
05.09.2024, 15:0005.09.2024, 16:59
Last year there was a price hammer and electricity costs rose significantly in some cases. On average, prices rose by 18 percent. This was after an average increase of 27 percent had to be absorbed the year before. Now there is at least some good news: on average (median), prices per household will fall by around 10 percent in 2025.
Situation for 2025
As of August 31, 2024, the approximately 600 Swiss network operators had to announce their electricity tariffs for the next year to both their customers and ElCom. The tariffs consist of the network usage tariffs, the energy tariffs, the community charges and the network surcharge. According to the calculations of the median values by ElCom, the situation for 2025 is as follows:
- A typical household with a consumption of 4,500 kWh (consumption profile H4) will pay 29 cents per kilowatt hour (Rp./kWh) next year, i.e. 3.14 Rp./kWh less than in 2024. Over a year, this corresponds to an electricity bill of 1,305 francs (- 141 francs).
- Network costs for a typical household fall by 4 percent from 12.71 Rp./kWh to 12.18 Rp./kWh. The network usage tariff includes the costs for the so-called winter reserve of 0.23 Rp./kWh. The energy tariffs for households fall from 15.63 Rp./kWh to 13.7 Rp./kWh (- 12%). The taxes and services to the community remain stable at 1 Rp./kWh. The network surcharge remains at 2.3 Rp./kWh.
- This means that the median total price falls from 32.14 Rp./kWh by around 10 percent to 29 Rp./kWh.
Why not everyone benefits equally
But electricity prices in Switzerland vary greatly between network operators – and you cannot choose your network operator. The differences arise in particular from large differences in energy procurement (proportion of in-house production and procurement strategy).
The timing of procurement plays an important role. Procurement strategies with a longer-term focus smooth out price fluctuations in the wholesale trade, but these are then reflected in the costs and thus the tariffs of a network operator for a longer period of time. Structured procurement with a large number of small procurement quantities spread over time significantly reduces the expected range of possible costs.
The four components of the electricity price
1. Network usage tariff:
Price for the transport of electricity via the power grid from the power plant to the house. It is determined by the costs for the grid, ie for construction, maintenance and operation. The grid usage tariff now also includes the costs for the winter reserve.
2. Energy rate:
Price for the electrical energy supplied. The network operator either generates this energy with its own power plants or purchases it from suppliers.
3. Contributions to the community:
Municipal and cantonal taxes and fees. These include, for example, concession fees or local energy taxes.
4. Network surcharge:
Federal levy to promote renewable energies, support large-scale hydropower and for ecological rehabilitation of hydropower. The amount of the levy is set annually by the Federal Council and in 2025, as in the previous year, will be the legal maximum of 2.3 cents/kWh.
Reasons for the price development
How does the average price reduction come about? ElCom writes of several reasons:
- Prices on the wholesale electricity market have stabilized somewhat, albeit at a high levelWhile wholesale prices for delivery in the following year were still at around 150 EUR/MWh twelve months ago, they are currently at around 90 EUR/MWh.
- The cost of the winter reserve has decreased compared to the previous year. These costs are passed on to end consumers via a surcharge on the grid usage tariff (1.2 cents/kWh in 2024, 0.23 cents/kWh for the coming year).
- Also slightly decreased the return on capital for the network (sog. WACC).
How you can save electricity:
Example: 2500 kWh/year, 4-room apartment
For this example apartment, the residents of Muhen AG with 48.95 Rp./kWh. Overall, electricity became more expensive in 142 municipalities.
The cheapest way to get away is to eagle-Zwischbergen VS lives. Only 9.48 Rp./kWh is charged here.
In this category, people pay less than in 2024 in 1,877 municipalities, the same amount as last year in 72.
Municipalities without data: There are various reasons why data is missing. In most cases, the municipality has not (yet) been included in the reporting by the network operator.
Example: 4500 kWh/year, 5-room apartment
For this example apartment, residents of Grub AR (45.85 Rp./kWh) pay the most. In the Appenzell village, the tariff increased by 1.53 cents compared to 2024. In another 143 communities, residents will also have to pay more in 2025.
Residents of Gondo-Zischbergen In the Valais border town, people pay 9.05 cents/kWh, which is 1.17 cents less than in 2024. Residents in 1888 municipalities were able to enjoy reductions, while in 61 there was no change.
Municipalities without data: There are various reasons why data is missing. In most cases, the municipality has not (yet) been included in the reporting by the network operator.
Data and sources
The standard product is delivered to the end user unless he explicitly requests a different product. For many network operators, the standard product is the cheapest product.
Many electricity suppliers do not have a standard price for all customers, but rather base their tariffs on the amount and timing of electricity consumption. Tariff structures can be complex and vary from supplier to supplier. To enable a price comparison, the raw data is weighted according to 15 predefined consumption categories.
To compare tariffs over time or between two municipalities, we recommend visiting the ElCom electricity price website.
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