Wholesale electricity prices have fallen significantly in recent months – but many household customers are not benefiting from the relief. Energy provider 1KOMMA5° has analyzed the current electricity price development and shows: the gap between market price and end customer price continues to widen. While procurement costs are falling, network charges, levies and distribution margins remain at high levels.
The topic is becoming increasingly relevant to business for electrical contractors and installers. Customers investing in photovoltaic systems or energy storage are specifically asking about options for optimizing self-consumption – driven by mistrust of falling electricity prices. Anyone installing an energy management system for their customers should be able to transparently explain which cost components are actually market-dependent and which remain regulatory fixed.
1KOMMA5° is increasingly focusing on local showrooms, such as in Bremen, to advise consumers directly. The strategy: create transparency on site and at the same time market dynamic tariffs that pass on wholesale market price fluctuations directly to end customers. For electrical contractors who themselves plan and install PV systems, this is an opportunity for differentiation – but also a challenge. Because anyone who offers or recommends dynamic tariffs must also install smart meters and train customers in the use of intelligent controls.
The analysis also shows: network charges and government levies now account for around half of household electricity prices. These components are largely independent of the wholesale market and develop very differently by region. Installers should therefore prepare realistic amortization calculations when advising on optimizing self-consumption in single-family homes – without relying on further price cuts.
Specific areas of action are emerging for the electrical trade: installation of feed-in meters, integration of smart metering systems and the coupling of PV systems with home storage and wallboxes. Anyone who today networks home power plants with dynamic electricity tariffs positions themselves as a systems integrator – not just as an installer. The electricity price debate thus becomes an opener for holistic energy management projects.
