Swiss households could face 12% hike in electricity prices in 2024

Rising costs for getting onto the grid are also being partly passed on to consumers. Keystone / Helmut Fohringer

Electricity prices are set to soar for the second year running in Switzerland as Europe-wide energy troubles continue, the Association of Swiss Electricity Businesses (AES) said on Tuesday.

The industry group said the 12% estimate was based on the median figure provided by its 135 members, that include the country’s big suppliers. Definitive figures will be published in August.

Under the provisional projections, a four-person household will see a bump of CHF0.03 ($0.03) per kilowatt hour next year, from CHF0.27 to CHF0.30.

Among other factors, the hike takes into account rising energy prices, costs related to maintaining Swiss hydroelectric reserves and backup power stations, and the price of using the electricity grid.

+ Read more: how the Swiss electricity market works

It was already announced in March that the cost for households to connect to the power grid was set to more than double in 2024. The government’s decision to pass on the cost of keeping winter reserves to private households and businesses was also unprecedented.

The AES said on Tuesday that the increases were mainly due to the ongoing energy crisis, which is driving up electricity prices on the wholesale market. Fuel is pricier, while levels in gas reservoirs are historically low, and power plants are seeing more failures and load shedding, it added.

It said the market difficulties are driven by the war in Ukraine as well as by the dry conditions in Europe.

Energy prices reached record levels in August last year. In 2023, Swiss consumer prices climbed by around 27%.