How a dynamic tariff works
Your price per kWh is the day-ahead price for that period plus the supplier's margin, network charges, taxes and levies. The prices for the next day are published shortly after 13:00 CET, so you know them a day in advance.
Under EU rules (Directive 2019/944) every supplier with more than 200,000 customers must offer a dynamic contract to customers who have a smart meter.
What you need
A smart meter that records your consumption at least every hour, ideally every quarter-hour. Without it you are billed on a standard profile and the dynamic price brings little. Many suppliers add an app that shows the prices and can control appliances, wallboxes or heat pumps.
How much shifting is worth
Average gap over the last 30 days between the daily average day-ahead price and the four cheapest hours of each day, plus the average gap between the dearest and cheapest hour. Moving consumption into the cheap hours saves roughly this much per kWh, before network charges and taxes.
Over the last 30 days the four cheapest hours of the day in Germany & Luxembourg were on average €72.06/MWh below the daily average – about €0.072/kWh. The most expensive hour cost on average €185.64/MWh more than the cheapest.
| Bidding zone | Daily spread €/MWh | Cheapest 4 h below avg. €/MWh | per kWh |
|---|---|---|---|
 Spain | 200 | 104 | €0.104/kWh |
 Portugal | 200 | 101 | €0.101/kWh |
 Hungary | 220 | 100 | €0.100/kWh |
 France | 186 | 83 | €0.083/kWh |
 Slovenia | 179 | 80 | €0.080/kWh |
 Austria | 169 | 74 | €0.074/kWh |
 Poland | 195 | 73 | €0.073/kWh |
 Germany & Luxembourg | 186 | 72 | €0.072/kWh |
 Netherlands | 183 | 72 | €0.072/kWh |
 Czechia | 188 | 71 | €0.071/kWh |
 Belgium | 174 | 69 | €0.069/kWh |
 Sweden (Malmö, SE4) | 169 | 64 | €0.064/kWh |
 East Denmark (DK2) | 172 | 62 | €0.062/kWh |
| West Denmark (DK1) | 169 | 62 | €0.062/kWh |
 Switzerland | 118 | 53 | €0.053/kWh |
 Great Britain | 126 | 50 | €0.050/kWh |
 Italy (North) | 113 | 45 | €0.045/kWh |
| Sweden (Stockholm, SE3) | 114 | 45 | €0.045/kWh |
 Norway (South-West, NO2) | 70 | 32 | €0.032/kWh |
Official day-ahead prices of the European market coupling: hourly until September 2025, quarter-hourly since October 2025. Figures calculated by us.
Who benefits
Households with an electric car, a heat pump, a home battery or a lot of consumption they can move – washing, drying, the dishwasher, hot water – benefit most. If you use most of your electricity in the evening peak, a dynamic tariff can cost more than a fixed price.
Risks and how to limit them
Prices can spike in cold, windless spells, as they did in the 2022 energy crisis. Check the monthly fee and the supplier's margin per kWh, keep the right to switch at short notice, and run your own meter data through our tariff check to see what you would have paid.
Luxembourg