Swiss retail power prices to soar next year

Depending on locale, household will face important price hikes for electricity. © Keystone/Gaetan Bally

Swiss households are set to see power bills rise by around 27% in 2023, with wide swings depending on municipality.

“A typical household with consumption of 4,500 kWh will pay 27 centimes per kilowatt hour next year, 5.8 centimes more than in 2022,” the national energy watchdog announced on Tuesday.

Calculated over a year, this corresponds to an electricity bill of CHF1,215 ($1,238), and up CHF261, according to the Federal Electricity Commission.

Network connection costs and municipal fees were set to rise as well, while the national surcharge to promote renewable energies would hold steady at 2.3 centimes per kWh.

Small and mid-sized businesses were also facing price increases, it said, citing surging wholesale prices amid curtailed gas supplies during the war in Ukraine.

Aid for households

The Trade Union Federation said consumers in Switzerland were better off than, for example, in Britain, where power prices have tripled, but it called for state aid to poorer households.

“For households with low incomes, an increase in the electricity bill by several hundred francs is unbearable. Therefore, effective flanking measures are needed quickly,” it said in a statement.

A leading consumer protection group criticised the price hikes as some electricity companies billed households for services not used.

The Swiss government said last week it saw no immediate need for measures to help cushion the burden of surging energy prices and inflation but would assess the situation again after an energy price task force reported back next month.