What does it cost, and who pays?
The Bill
The wholesale price is only the start of a bill. Network charges, levies and taxes come on top, and flexibility and curtailment have a price of their own.
Ask about this section
- Why did bills stay high after wholesale prices came back down?
- What kind of tariff do you need before hourly prices reach your bill at all?
- Is German industry paying more than its neighbours?
Flexibility scenario
How much a car, heat pump or battery saves in a year by charging in the cheapest hours. Inside the view: Yearly saving by load and zone.
How much could moving an electric car or heat pump to cheaper hours save in a year? →An upper bound: it assumes perfect foresight, no losses and no price impact. Real savings are lower. Method: The canonical hourly grid, The cheapest-hours saving.
Electricity Bill Breakdown measured
A household bill split into wholesale energy, network charges, levies and taxes, and how that split has shifted. Inside the view: How countries compare.
Where does the money on a household electricity bill go? →Method: The wholesale-to-retail wedge.
Industrial Prices measured
What heavy industry pays for electricity: Germany beside France, Spain and Norway, and what the comparison leaves out. Inside the view: How the split has changed.
Why does a factory pay so much less per unit than a household does? →A country average for one consumption band; a company's own contract can differ.
Chinese Solar Imports measured
What Europe pays for solar panels from China: monthly import values and prices per kilogram, from customs data. Inside the view: The unit value of a module.
How much of Europe's solar equipment arrives from China? →A unit value is what was paid per kilogram, whatever the product mix; a price index would hold the mix fixed.
Curtailment Cost estimate
The cost of switched-off wind and solar: curtailed energy priced at a reference rate, an estimate.
Why would anyone switch off a wind farm that is generating for free? →An estimate at a reference rate; the settled cost differs by plant and year. Method: Curtailment cost at a reference price.