A trend on offering dynamic or flexible energy tariffs is emerging in Europe.
In Austria, since January 1, 2024, there is no value added tax for PV systems up to 35 kWp. Many private households are expected to switch to solar energy because the purchase price has become cheaper and the PV system with storage (house battery) pays off even more quickly.
In 2023, more than 3 million EV's were sold in Europe (16% over 2022). On average a typical Austrian household with at least 1 EV, only car charging can be responsible for almost 45% of the home's annal consumption. Heat pumps are also becoming increasingly popular in the country, with a 37% increase in sales in 2023 over 2022, making the heat pump the biggest electrical load in the Austrian home.
This challeging scenario has encouraged energy suppliers to offer flexible electricity tariffs (night, weekly, monthly, hourly, weekend), encouraging consumers to change their production and consumption patterns not only to help stabilize the grid, but mainly to get the benefit of lower energy bills.
Many Austrian Utilities such as aWATTar, Verbund, Energie AG and Steiemark have already stepped forward to offer dynamic energy tariffs. The same scheme can be seen in other EU countries (Spain, France, Italy, Poland, Czech Republic, Norway, Sweden). In the United Kingdom, the operator Octopus Energy has been standing out with modern and varied dynamic tariffs. Its octupus flexible tariff has reached reaching consumers and prosumers with different consumption profiles.
Germany has gone a step further as the government has obliged all energy suppliers to offer variable electricity tariffs by 2025. In this context, the German energy segment is well advanced with several operators offering flexible tariff services.
Energie Baden-Württemberg (EnBW)
Discovergy (a smart metering company that collaborates with various utilities)
With strong competition, we will see many creative dynamic energy tariffs that will benefit consumers. Certainly, this will bring a complexity of energy management for PV prosumers. But that's another story that is already being addressed by the market.
The consumer is the biggest beneficiary as they will be able to access a varied range of dynamic energy tariffs. To do this, they will need to analyze their consumption behavior and select the most appropriate type of dynamic tariff to achieve a greater reduction in their electricity bill at the end of the month.
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