A sample household pays almost 460 euros more per year for the most expensive electricity tariff than for the cheapest. Stiftung Warentest recommends doing the maths and has tested the new dynamic electricity tariffs, which are worthwhile for some consumers.
What is a dynamic electricity tariff? For whom is it useful? Stiftung Warentest tested 20 dynamic electricity tariffs. With dynamic electricity tariffs, the prices change hourly. The idea behind it is obvious: during the day, when the sun is shining and a lot of renewable energy is being generated, electricity is particularly cheap. In the evening, when it gets dark and electricity consumption in households increases, it becomes more expensive.
A dynamic electricity tariff is based on the so-called day-ahead market of the European electricity exchange Epex. This exchange electricity price is particularly interesting for consumers who can shift a large part of their electricity consumption to a "favourable" time, for example to charge their electric car at their own wallbox. In the cheapest tariff in the test, this only cost 10.5 cents per kilowatt hour.
Private customers will encounter dynamic electricity tariffs more frequently from 2025. Every supplier will then be legally obliged to offer such a tariff. Dynamic electricity tariffs are still only recommended for a small group of customers. This is also due to the fact that their use is linked to an intelligent metering system, the smart meter. This measures electricity consumption every 15 minutes, but is only used by 0.5 per cent of private households. From 2025, every household will be able to have a smart meter installed via their grid operator. However, this will only be of benefit if the electricity consumption of many appliances in the household can be controlled individually.
Until then, dynamic electricity tariffs are particularly interesting for consumers who can shift high electricity consumption, e.g. for their electric car or heat pump, to the favourable midday period.
The full test on dynamic electricity tariffs appears in the September issue of Finanztest magazine and is available online at www.test.de/dynamische-stromtarife.
Photo: © StockSnap, Pixabay
