Dynamic electricity tariffs still largely unknown

08.01.2025

Source: E & M powernews

From this year, electricity suppliers will also be obliged to offer a dynamic tariff that follows the electricity market. According to an Enpal survey, 70 percent of Germans do not know this.

From 2025, the installation of electronic metering systems (smart meters) above a certain level of consumption and the offer of dynamic electricity tariffs will be mandatory by law. According to a survey commissioned by the energy service provider Enpal, over 70 percent of Germans are still unaware of this. Almost half of those surveyed are afraid of high prices for dynamic electricity tariffs. Nevertheless, 70 percent also see digital technologies as an opportunity for the energy transition.

All electricity suppliers will have to offer a dynamic electricity tariff from 2025 if households have a smart meter. The installation of such a device will be mandatory for all households with electricity consumption over 6,000 kWh per year. The market research company Appinio surveyed 1,000 people in Germany between the ages of 16 and 65 on behalf of Enpal for a "Digital Energy Transition Monitor" to find out whether they were aware of this.

According to the survey, over 75 percent do not know what the term smart meter means. Almost 70 percent of those surveyed were unable to explain what a dynamic electricity tariff is. There are also many reservations: Almost half of Germans are afraid of prices being too high with dynamic tariffs. Pricing is also often perceived as opaque and complicated. Enpal describes itself as the largest competitive operator of smart meters in Germany.

According to the survey, more than 80 percent of respondents do not know what a virtual power plant or a smart energy manager is. 85 percent are not familiar with bidirectional charging of electric cars. The best known is the wallbox: Here, as many as 42 percent said they know that this is an e-car charging station. In view of the debates about high electricity prices, it is remarkable that almost half of Germans are unable to state how much they pay for their electricity.

Respondents generally open to new technologies

Nevertheless, Germans are by no means generally opposed to the digital energy transition. More than half would like more information about their energy consumption and innovative offers. Many see advantages in dynamic electricity tariffs: 46% think they could save costs by shifting their electricity consumption to cheaper times.

"The energy transition must be conceived from the consumer's perspective: intelligently, but also simply," commented Enpal company spokesperson Wolfgang Gründinger on the survey results. With an AI-based energy manager, his company networks solar systems, storage systems and wallboxes to create a virtual power plant.

This decentralized gigabattery, on the scale of a nuclear power plant, can reduce expensive grid expansion through the intelligent use of energy. At the same time, it saves customers money on their electricity supply, he said. "Education is important so that consumers can benefit from the advantages of the smart energy transition," said Gründinger.

The "Digital Energy Transition Monitor" from Enpal is available online.

Author: Susanne Harmsen