This is dependent on the amount of electricity you use and the number of people you reside with. 1500 to 2000 kWh per person per year is a good estimate1.
The majority of electric companies charge a base rate plus a per-kWh fee. As an example, we’ll look at Vattenfall’s Easy12 Strom plan. You pay a monthly fee of 8.80 plus 0.26 per kWh. You would spend 0.26 x 125 + 8.80 = 41.30 per month if you used 125 kWh each month.
Your power bill is calculated based on your predicted consumption. You have the option of deciding how much you wish to pay each month. If you consumed more electricity than you paid for during the year, you will receive an invoice at the end of the year. You’ll get some money back if you use less.
If you don’t know how much you’ll need, this is a decent quantity to pay1, 2:
In Germany, how do you pay for electricity?
You pay two energy bills in Germany. The expense of heating and hot water is included in your “warm” rent (Warmmiete). This is a monthly payment to your landlord. Once a year, the cost of your warm rent is changed. You will be charged if you use more energy. You will receive some money back if you use less energy.
You’ll need to sign a contract with a power company for everything else (appliances, lighting). The electricity used by your refrigerator, washing machine, oven, lights, and computer is paid directly to them. Find a power company using Verivox or Check24.
In Germany, how do I pay a bill?
To set up your preferred payment method, you’ll usually need a local bank account. If you already live in Germany and have a bank account, this is simple. If you are new to the country, you will need to register a bank account that will allow you to set up automatic payments (direct debit). Downloading a mobile banking app like N26 and applying for an account in minutes is a quick and easy way to do this. Read our guide to mobile banking in Germany for more details.
Paying your energy bills
You will most likely receive a bill every month or two months, depending on your supplier, when it comes to paying your gas or electricity bills in Germany. It’s possible that it’s even less common than that. Your first year’s bills will almost certainly be estimations. However, by giving regular meter readings, you may be able to reduce your charge in the future.
Automatic collection or bank transfer are the most typical payment methods. These payments can be simply set up through your bank or using your mobile banking app.
If you’re having trouble paying your utility bills in Germany, you may be eligible for government assistance at any time. Those renting a room or an apartment can get rental assistance (Mietzuschuss). This assistance can assist with both the rent and any other necessary expenses like as utilities. Successful candidates must meet the prerequisites (which include proper registration documents) as well as the qualifying criteria, which include household income.
In Germany, how much does electricity cost each month?
According to 2020 reports and statistics, Germany has the highest electricity prices in Europe. Furthermore, the cost of living continues to climb year after year.
Germans spend even more than Danes, despite Denmark being one of the EU’s most expensive countries.
The current energy price in Germany is 31,94 cents per kWh, according to the German Association of Energy and Water Industries (BDEW) (as of July 2021).
A home with a 3,500 kWh consumption pays 1,118 EUR in power costs per year, or 93,16 EUR per month. Electricity costs per person in 2020 will be around 415 EUR per year.
The cost of power varies by location and is determined by the tariff chosen. The default electricity source is much more expensive than alternative power suppliers.
Furthermore, electricity is less expensive at night. When demand is low, the hours between midnight and 5 a.m. are the most economical.
Electricity prices in Germany have risen by 70% in the last 20 years, owing mostly to numerous taxes and charges.
Around the year 2000, the German government enacted five new taxes to help finance the energy transition.
One of these, for example, is the EEG surcharge. This levy is levied on typical power users to help subsidize renewable energy providers. In 2021, the EEG fee will increase your rate by up to 6,5 cents per kilowatt-hour.
Based on annual use, the table below illustrates how much the average German home pays for electricity. Because of the differences in suppliers, the prices vary.
What is the average cost of electricity in Germany?
The figures, however, are estimations; somewhat different figures have also been circulated. The average price in 2017 was 28.18 Euro cents, according to consumer portal Verivox (in German). Regardless of the exact figure, Germany is unquestionably towards the top.
Estimates for the average electricity bill are also being distributed, but they appear to be consistently overstated. For example, based on 4,000 kWh of annual consumption, the German article mentioned above results in a monthly power cost of 93.93 euros. That amount is considerably higher than the standard German utility umbrella organization BDEW’s metric of 3,500 kWh per year for a “three-person family” (in German).
With an estimated 41 million households and a population of 82 million people, Germany’s average household size is exactly two individuals. A household with three people is larger than the average.
In addition, the amount of kilowatt-hours consumed in residential structures is significantly smaller. According to the graph below, German households use around 130 TWh of power per year. When you multiply 41 million households by 3,171 kWh, you get 3,171 kWh. The average German home spends 967.07 euros on power year and 80.59 euros monthly at 30.5 Euro cents per kilowatt-hour.
Now comes the fun part: the EU does not collect figures on monthly household power bills, so we can’t compare apples to apples. The “Strom Report” tries to put the situation in context using the statistics available, and we can see that when purchasing power is taken into consideration, German retail power costs (not bills!) are in the middle of the pack. However, even that comparison ignores actual spending the bills, not simply the pricing. I’ve also written on households being unable to pay their energy bills, and Germany, once again, does not fare well. Also, “energy bills” refer to more than simply electricity: heating oil, natural gas, and so on.
For comparisons of average German power costs with those in other nations, you’d have to repeat the preceding calculation for each country: Calculate the quantity of power utilized by households, then divide by the number of households and multiply by the price.
It’s a lot of work, and it’s more suited to a full study than a blog post, so I’ll just point you to our comparison of German and US electricity costs based on 2013 data. After adjusting for use for air conditioning, which German households do not have, German power costs are fairly comparable to those in the United States (or need).
High costs, on the other hand, aren’t the end of the world, at least not in wealthy countries like Germany. For example, taxes account for about three-quarters of the price of fuel in many European countries. As a comparison with the United States indicates, high gas prices have pushed buyers into more fuel-efficient vehicles. Similarly, because Germans are aware of their high power bills, they pay extra attention to power consumption while purchasing appliances.
Regardless of where you stand on the subject of how high electricity rates should be, I believe we can all agree on one thing: German media and utility companies should stop exaggerating the average monthly power bill in Germany.
Why is electricity in Germany so expensive?
According to Eurostat, industrial customers paid EUR 0.1505 per kilowatt hour in 2016. Energy is more expensive in Germany than practically anywhere else in the EU, where the average cost per kilowatt hour is only EUR 0.119. Companies only pay more for electricity in Italy and the United Kingdom than they do in Germany.
Why is energy in Germany so expensive? The country is attempting to move away from fossil fuels and nuclear power in favor of renewable energy sources. This transformation comes at a high cost, which is paid for by levies and taxes imposed on German residents and businesses. Germany’s tax burden on industrial consumers is 45.5 percent, greater than Italy’s (42.5 percent), Denmark’s (35.4 percent), and Austria’s (35.4 percent) (30.4 percent). Sweden, the Czech Republic, and Bulgaria, on the other hand, have tax loads of less than 2%, and Malta has no energy taxes at all for industrial consumers.
Is power in Germany expensive?
According to a new international comparison of energy prices, Germany has some of the world’s most costly electricity. Out of 133 countries, Germany has the 15th most costly electricity prices.
Is electricity cheaper in Germany at night?
If I can answer this question correctly, I will be able to turn off my air heat pump when power is at its most expensive.
Finally, a compelling incentive to get started with Python! After a few days, the result is not only a greater understanding of Python and Pandas, but also a heat map depicting the average electricity price in Germany over the last 250 days each daily.
As can be seen, switching electricity use to the night and avoiding the early morning hours is substantially cheaper if everyone uses the toaster and coffee machine. The evening hours, when Germany sits in front of the television, are the same. Now you can turn off the air heat pump during the most expensive hours of the day and only use it when electricity is cheap. I expect this to result in significant savings, particularly during the winter, when the photovoltaic system can no longer provide the household’s electrical needs.
My power company can bill my consumption hourly thanks to a Discovergy smartmeter. This provides a near-second-by-second glimpse of the household’s current electricity consumption. The following graph, on the other hand, is much more intriguing because it assigns the EPEX SPOT electrical exchange’s electricity price to the respective hours. As a result, you’ll be able to watch when the heat pump uses electricity.
As can be seen, the yellow-hued hour was not the cheapest on this particular day. As you can see from the heat map above, this is frequently the case. You could even go one step further and figure out the most expensive six hours of the day and switch off the heat pump during those hours. For the time being, I wouldn’t recommend more than 6 hours to keep the house from overheating in the winter. But this winter, I’m going to pay great attention to the conduct.
I intend to make a fresh heat map in the following weeks. Only days with temperatures below 18 degrees Celsius should be included in this list. Only on these days does the heating turn on and provide heat for the house as well as hot water. However, I do not believe that this results in significant disparities. We’ll have to wait and see…
Leave a comment or contact me on Twitter or LinkedIn if you’ve done something similar and want to share your experiences.
What steps do I need to take to establish up utilities in Germany?
Changing your energy provider is a simple and straightforward process, as your new provider will handle the majority of the paperwork. All you have to do now is find a new business and furnish them with some information (usually including the details of your bank account, meter number and estimated usage). They’ll then contact your former energy provider to cancel your contract and make sure everything is in place in time for a smooth transfer.
It’s worth noting that certain energy and internet providers offer lower rates if you sign up for a minimum contract length (Mindesvertraglaufzeit) of up to 24 months. If you change energy suppliers before your contract expires, make sure you follow the conditions of your contract, including the minimum and notification periods, or you may be charged an early departure fee.
Do Germans have to pay for their utilities?
In Germany, whether you rent a furnished or unfurnished apartment, you will be responsible for paying utilities. So let’s have a look at some of the many utilities you might come across, as well as how to build up your own if you need to!
What is the cost of energy in Munich?
Of course, the monthly prices are determined by the amount of electricity consumed by your electronic gadgets.
Once you’ve settled into your new apartment, double-check that all of your lamps have LED bulbs, and if they don’t, replace them with the more cost-effective LEDs.
The refrigerator and the oven are two major reasons of high energy consumption in an older kitchen.
You can either ask your landlord to replace them or live with them until they break down, at which point the landlord will have to replace them on his own dime due to the “tenant-friendly” German Rent Act.
Calculate the power consumption for a one-person household at around 2.000Kwh per year, a two-person household at around 2.500Kwh/year, a three-person household at around 3.000kWh/year, and a four-person household at around 3.500 and 4.000Kwh/year.
Currently, 1 kilowatt-hour costs around 0.30. By the way, per-person prices decrease when the number of people living in the flat increases, as the costs of appliances such as the refrigerator and television are shared among more people.