The Federal Electricity Commission (ElCom) confirmed that basic supply rates will drop by an average of 4% for households in 2026. The average overall rate is 27.7 ct./kWh, compared to 29 last year, which translates into an average saving of 58 francs per year for a typical household. The reason is simple: the supply contracts signed in 2022 and 2023 at exorbitant prices are expiring, and the new ones are being closed at more reasonable prices in the European market.
The uncomfortable detail is that the national average hides enormous differences depending on where you live. La Chaux-de-Fonds falls by 15%, Lausanne by 12%, while Zermatt rises by 18%. There are neighboring communes with rates that differ by more than 30%, simply because the local supplier depends on different contracts, its production mix and the planned network investments. In Switzerland, the postal code not only decides how much you pay in taxes, it also decides how much it costs you to turn on the light.
Another practical novelty: measurement costs, which until now were included in the invoice, are now invoiced separately. For a normal home it is 74.40 francs per year, or 1.65 ct./kWh additional depending on the type of profile. It is not a disguised increase, the amounts were already there before, but the breakdown will surprise more than one when the annual bill arrives with two new lines instead of one.
For those who can choose a supplier, it is advisable to compare before June, which is when many liberalized contracts are renegotiated for the winter. For the rest, tied to the community's basic supplier, the only useful action is to continue reducing consumption: electronics on standby, electric radiators and the water heater continue to be the big silent culprits. Rates are going down, but we are still paying 30% more than in 2022, so the party is nothing to write home about.