More transparency in the energy market: Bundesnetzagentur models dynamic electricity prices
Year of issue 2025
Date of issue 2025.12.02
The Bundesnetzagentur is adding to the range of information it publishes on its SMARD transparency platform and is now introducing modelled dynamic electricity prices for household customers. The figures show how electricity prices have developed and create more transparency for consumers. This makes changes in energy prices clearer and comparing different tariff models easier. Since 1 January 2025 all electricity suppliers have had to offer at least one dynamic electricity tariff.
Modelling based on real price components
The energy procurement costs in dynamic electricity tariffs are directly linked to the spot-market prices on the electricity exchange. Short-term fluctuations in prices on the wholesale market lead to continuous changes in the energy-based price. Consumers can potentially save costs by shifting their electricity consumption flexibly to times when prices are low.
The electricity prices on SMARD are modelled by weighting the spot-market prices with a typical household’s consumption. The modelling is based on the typical consumption behaviour of customers not shifting their electricity consumption to other times. The other price components are based on current data on dynamic electricity tariffs provided by suppliers in the Bundesnetzagentur’s monitoring survey.
This creates a realistic and comprehensible representation of the typical costs in dynamic tariffs – without assumptions about consumption behaviour and without the effects of shifts in consumption. A comparison with the modelled fixed-price tariffs shows that it is frequently worth opting for a dynamic tariff. This is because spot-market prices are often low when the level of renewable generation is high, which means that the energy-based prices are lower, and at times considerably lower, than those in fixed-price tariffs. The modelling for 2025 shows that dynamic prices have been consistently lower than fixed-price tariffs since April.
The Bundesnetzagentur has published further information and the latest data at www.smard.de/page/home/topic-article/211816/218350/modellierter-dynamischer-strompreis.
This extended range of information reinforces SMARD’s role as the information platform for Germany’s energy market.