Households in Germany could face higher electricity and gas costs around the start of 2027, though the exact effect on individual bills will depend on location, energy use and tariff.
Calculations from the comparison portal Verivox point to rising electricity and gas grid fees in the coming year, alongside wholesale costs feeding through to customers.
The biggest potential increase identified by Verivox concerns household gas tariffs, with widespread rises expected at the turn of the year as suppliers pass higher procurement costs on to customers. Affected tariffs could rise by 10 to 20 percent depending on the existing plan, which Verivox states could mean additional gas costs of up to €500 a year for a household heating a detached home.
Wholesale electricity prices can also rise when gas becomes more expensive due to Germany's merit-order principle, where the most expensive power source used to meet demand sets the market price. Verivox expects electricity grid fees to rise by an average of 1.9 percent nationwide at the turn of the year, with model annual grid costs for a household using 4,000 kWh increasing from €428 to €436 gross.
Grid fees vary sharply by region, with Verivox expecting annual electricity grid costs for the same model household to rise by €52, or nine percent, in Hamburg, and by €33, or eight percent, in Berlin. Gas-grid fees are also forecast to rise by an average of three percent, equivalent to about €19 a year for a household using 20,000 kWh.
Electricity grid fees are increasing partly due to reduced federal support for transmission-grid costs, with the government planning €5.525 billion in 2027 compared to €6.5 billion in 2026, marking a 15 percent reduction. Meanwhile, gas networks face pressure because Germany's gas consumption has fallen significantly since Russian pipeline gas was discontinued in 2022, forcing network costs to be spread across fewer consumed kilowatt-hours.
Source: The Local. Read the original report ↗