Overview
- Preliminary calculations published by Verivox in mid-October show average increases in 2027 network charges for electricity (about 1.9%) and gas (about 3%), with results based on tariff sheets covering roughly 80–84% of households.
- A key driver is a planned fall in the federal transmission subsidy from €6.5 billion in 2026 to €5.525 billion in 2027, which shifts more transmission costs onto regional distribution networks and then onto consumers.
- The impact will vary strongly by region and operator: Verivox projects much larger rises in places such as Hamburg (electricity network charges around +9%), while parts of eastern Germany may see small falls or muted increases.
- Wholesale gas and oil prices have jumped since 2025 because of the Iran–Middle East conflict, heating oil is roughly 80% higher year‑on‑year, German gas storage was unusually low in early October, and analysts expect suppliers to pass higher procurement costs to customers with gas tariffs rising an estimated 10–20% for many households.
- Household bills will also reflect Germany's price mix: roughly a quarter of retail electricity costs are network fees and about a third are taxes and levies, while the market design lets the most expensive needed plant—often gas—set the wholesale price, so policy changes to taxes or subsidies and wholesale shocks both matter for final bills.