The electricity price gap between East and West had already been closed, but electricity prices in East Germany are now 15 percent higher than in West Germany. The price gap is bigger than ever. East German households are benefiting accordingly from the state brake on electricity prices. This shows a federal state evaluation of the comparison portal Verivox.
Price gap between east and west higher than ever
The electricity prices for a model household (4,000 kWh) in the basic supply are currently 2,154 euros in eastern Germany without taking into account the price brake, while in western Germany 1,878 euros are due. This corresponds to a price difference of 15 percent or 276 euros.
The price gap to the detriment of the East is thus higher than ever before. In 2011, the price gap was around 6 percent and narrowed continuously in the years that followed. In 2020 the gap was closed, in 2021 and 2022 East German consumers even had a price advantage – albeit only a small one.
“The large electricity price differences between east and west can be partly explained by the increase in electricity grid fees. At the turn of the year, the costs for operating, maintaining and expanding the electricity grid in western Germany rose by an average of 14 percent to 342 euros, in eastern Germany by 25 percent to 392 euros,” says Thorsten Storck, energy expert at Verivox.
Factors such as industrial and population density, but also the costs for the expansion of renewable energies, are the reasons for the regionally different grid fees.
Electricity prices in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania are 56 percent higher than in Bremen
The highest electricity prices in the basic supply are currently due in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. For a consumption of 4,000 kilowatt hours, the annual electricity bill here is 2,350 euros. That is 845 euros or almost 56 percent more than in the cheapest state of Bremen (1,505 euros). In Brandenburg (EUR 2,308) and Thuringia (EUR 2,197) electricity prices are also above average.
A significantly lower price level can be found in Bremen as well as in Berlin (1,779 euros), Rhineland-Palatinate (1,830 euros), North Rhine-Westphalia (1,834 euros) and Hamburg (1,843 euros).
Price brakes have the strongest effect in eastern Germany
Due to the generally higher electricity prices in the East, East Germans benefit significantly more from the state brake on electricity prices. In the entire east, the electricity price brake reduces costs by an average of 331 euros, while the electricity bill in western Germany falls by an average of 160 euros.
The greatest effect is in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. Here, the price brake reduces electricity costs by an average of 482 euros. In Brandenburg, a model family is relieved by an average of 441 euros, in Thuringia by 362 euros. No or hardly any state support is required in the city states of Bremen (0 euros), Berlin (45 euros) and Hamburg (69 euros). Here the prices are only slightly above or even below those of the electricity price brake.
methodology
The electricity prices valid in April 2023 in the basic supply for the respective federal states were evaluated.