By 12 percent: electricity prices will also rise in 2024

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Electricity prices rose by no less than 27 percent this year. Each kilowatt hour of electricity was on average 6 cents more expensive. The Association of Swiss Electricity Companies (VSE) is now warning consumers in a press release: electricity rates are likely to rise sharply again in 2024. And by 12 percent! This is evident from this year’s electricity price survey among VSE members.

“So half of the basic supply companies are likely to increase their electricity prices by 12 percent or more,” the statement said. The median expected electricity price for an average household in 2024 is just under 30 centimes per kilowatt hour (2023: 27.2 centimes/kWh).

The VSE emphasizes that this is an initial estimate. It is based on feedback from 135 members. The largest basic supply companies also participated. The final figures with all components will be known at the end of August.

The current calculations include all components of the currently known electricity price, writes the VSE: the energy tariffs, the grid usage tariffs for the Swissgrid transmission grid including costs for federal emergency measures in winter (“winter reserve”), costs for the cantons and municipalities as well as the grid surcharge . The grid usage tariffs for the distribution grid are not yet known. “Here too, higher costs can be expected in some cases,” says the VSE.

On the one hand, the ongoing energy crisis is responsible for the renewed price increase, according to the VSE. “Electricity prices on the wholesale market in 2021 are due to higher fuel and CO₂-Prices, historically low fill levels in the gas storage facilities and power plant failures and closures have soared.” With the war in Ukraine and the drought across Europe, the already tense price situation worsened last year.

“Despite the very high prices, suppliers had to buy energy for 2024 and the years after,” explains the association. The price situation has now eased somewhat, but compared to the years before 2021, market prices are still above average.

On the other hand, the federal government created the “winter reserve” in 2022 to ensure the power supply in the winter of 2022/2023. The costs for these emergency measures will be included in the grid usage tariff of the electricity price for the first time in 2024 and will therefore also contribute to the increase in electricity prices. (Russian)

Source:Blick