Editor in chief at IamExpat Media
The Swiss Federal Electricity Commission Elcom has announced that the cost of electricity in Switzerland will rise by an average of 18 percent next year, as a result of increasing market prices.
As of August 31, 2023, all 600-odd network operators in Switzerland had to announce their 2024 electricity tariffs - which are made up of network usage tariffs, energy tariffs, taxes and the network surcharge - to ElCom and their customers. ElCom has compiled the figures to calculate the average cost of a kilowatt hour (kWh) of electricity in 2024.
According to an ElCom press release, a typical household will pay 32,14 cents per kilowatt hour in 2024 - an increase of 4,94 cents or 18 percent. This is markedly lower than the increase in 2023. For a typical household with an annual consumption of 4.500 kWh, this would result in an electricity bill of 1.446 francs, an increase of 222 francs.
However, it’s important to note that the headline increase is a median value: the price changes vary significantly between municipalities. ElCom explained that this is because tariffs “vary considerably between network operators in Switzerland… due to large differences in energy procurement.”
So while the average price paid in Canton Nidwalden is 21,98 cents per kilowatt hour - significantly below the national average - in Neuenberg it’s 37,41 cents, way above the average. In the city of Basel, residents will pay an average of 33,98 cents, compared to 24,5 cents in Zurich, 28,61 cents in Geneva and 30,4 cents in Bern. In the municipality of Braunau in Thurgau, electricity costs 50,62 cents per kilowatt hour, the most expensive rate in the country. You can see the full list on the ElCom website.
ElCom said that a number of factors are behind the increase in the tariffs: not only did providers have to contend with higher costs on the market when procuring their supplies for 2024, but also the cost of building up a reserve for winter is being passed on to consumers via a surcharge. Network usage tariffs are also rising.
Electricity tariffs in Switzerland depend primarily on the production costs of the supplier - which is determined by their production and procurement portfolio - and therefore even within municipalities prices can vary depending on which company you have a contract for utilities with.