Costs & tariffs
Electricity (2/5): What you really pay
Your electricity bill carries two kinds of item. Some are charged in centimes per kWh and fall when you draw less. The others are an amount per year and stay, even if the meter stands still. Anyone who does not separate the two calculates every saving measure wrongly.
Two units on one bill
Part 1 gave a unit price of 27,89 centimes/kWh for a household using 4’500 kWh. That is not what a kWh costs you. On top comes the standing charge, an amount per year, regardless of consumption. Spread over the consumption it makes 29,83 centimes/kWh, so 1,94 centimes more. Both figures appear on this site, and each says what it means.
A zero in the tariff data does not mean no standing charge applies, only that none is reported separately. This affects 402 of the 2’123 municipalities. It may sit inside the unit price or appear as a metering tariff on the bill. Where one is reported it stands at CHF 72 per year and at most CHF 240. Measured against the annual bill that is 4,7 per cent, 7,9 in the top tenth and 16,0 in the most extreme case.
| Item | Unit | with less grid consumption |
|---|---|---|
| Energy supply | centimes/kWh | falls |
| Grid usage, unit price | centimes/kWh | falls |
| Federal grid surcharge | centimes/kWh | falls |
| Levies to canton and municipality | centimes/kWh | falls |
| Grid standing charge | CHF per year | stays |
| Metering tariff, meter rental | CHF per year | stays |
| Capacity price, where charged | CHF per kW and month | stays, follows the peak |
Why small households pay more
The standing charge spreads over consumption. Whoever draws little carries it on few kilowatt-hours. On top of that the utilities set higher unit prices for small profiles. Both work in the same direction. All figures below are the municipality in the middle, the value with equally many above and below it.
- Flat, 2’500 kWh. 33,60 centimes/kWh, CHF 840 per year.
- Household, 4’500 kWh. 29,83 centimes/kWh, CHF 1’342.
- Detached house, 7’500 kWh. 26,99 centimes/kWh, CHF 2’024.
- House with heat pump, 13’000 kWh. 25,26 centimes/kWh, CHF 3’284.
The flat pays 24,5 per cent more per kWh than the detached house, on a third of the consumption. Each municipality is calculated on its own, and the median is taken afterwards. The other order would be an average of averages.
Where 50 centimes arise
Only 4 municipalities cross the 50 centimes/kWh mark in 2026, all in the 2’500 kWh profile. The highest stands at 53,10. In the detached-house profile with 7’500 kWh not a single one goes above 42,76. The peak prices hit the small consumers.
What basic supply leaves you
You are not allowed to change supplier below 100’000 kWh per year. What remains is the product from your own utility. 716 of the 2’123 municipalities report a second product alongside the standard one, and in 708 of them it is cheaper, by 0,91 centimes/kWh and at most by 6,05. At 4’500 kWh, 0,91 centimes are around CHF 41 per year.
- Check the product at your own utility. CHF 41 per year at 4’500 kWh where a second one is reported. One phone call, once.
- Reduce consumption. 10 per cent less is CHF 126 at 4’500 kWh and CHF 193 for the detached house. Works only on the per-kWh items.
- Give up a second meter. The standing charge falls away, CHF 72 in the middle, CHF 240 at the most expensive utilities.
- Change supplier. Not possible. Basic supply is a territorial monopoly.
What does your electricity cost?
All 2’102 municipalities, tariff year 2026, standing charge included. Without own generation.
Enter a municipality.
| municipality in the middle | 29,83 Rp./kWh |
|---|---|
| cheapest municipality | 10,18 Rp./kWh |
| most expensive municipality | 45,21 Rp./kWh |
Calculation: unit price of the municipality × annual consumption + standing charge. The annual consumption is the chosen profile plus 0,18 kWh per kilometre. The cheapest reported standard tariff is used; where several grid operators supply an area, yours may be higher. Your utility’s bill is what counts.
The electric car shifts the bill
15’000 km per year are around 2’700 kWh on top, calculated at 18 kWh per 100 km including charging losses. The flat with 2’500 kWh then pays CHF 1’536 instead of CHF 840, the detached house CHF 2’727 instead of CHF 2’024. For the household with 4’500 kWh the increase is smallest, CHF 605, because at 7’200 kWh it slips into a profile with a lower unit price. The price per kWh falls for all household electricity, and the annual bill rises anyway.
What we do not know
Where a utility reports no standing charge, we do not know whether none applies or whether it sits inside the unit price. That affects 402 municipalities. Where several grid operators supply an area, we calculate with the cheapest reported standard tariff — your utility may be dearer. And the capacity price that individual utilities have charged since 2025 is not in the tariff data. It follows your highest quarter-hour load, and we do not know that.
Sources: ElCom, tariff filings of the distribution grid operators, tariff year 2026, profiles H2, H4, H5 and H7, product «standard», obtained via LINDAS; public view at strompreis.elcom.admin.ch. Art. 17a of the Electricity Supply Act for the separate disclosure of metering costs, Art. 13 for basic supply. Analysis: wattradar.ch on the basis of the ElCom tariff data 2026.
