Due to lower global energy supply after Russia attacked Ukraine in February 2022, energy prices in Europe climbed substantially.

In Switzerland, they increased by 20 percent on average in 2023 and 18 percent this year, taking out a big chunk of many families’ budgets.

However, after these considerable price hikes in the past two years, electricity tariffs will drop by an average of 10 percent in 2025, the Federal Electricity Commission (ElCom) announced on Thursday. 

This means that for a ‘typical’ household, which annually consumes 4,500 kWh, electricity bill will be 141 francs lower compared to 2024.

The reason for this positive evolution, according to ElCom, is that “prices on the wholesale electricity market have stabilised somewhat, resulting in a fall in energy tariffs.”

Different regional tariffs

Switzerland’s electricity network is highly decentralised, with about 600 different distributors.

For that reason, price disparities among Swiss electricity suppliers are significant, so the amount of the decrease will depend not only on your place of residence and the size of dwelling, but also on the production capacity of the local electricity provider.

Can you switch to a different (cheaper) power company?

No, private households can’t pick between different power suppliers. You are limited to using the local power company that holds the monopoly for your address.

How much cheaper will electricity be in your community in 2025?

The reduction of 10 percent is an average, which means more or less of a decrease in various communities.

For instance, if you live in canton Zurich, you are likely to pay nearly 13 percent less for electricity, while in the city of Zurich itself, your bill will be only 1.06 percent lower.

In Geneva and its communities, you are looking at a drop of 12.16 percent, while in Vaud, tariffs will be between about 7 and 12.69 percent lower (but only 4.19 percent less in Lausanne).

Basel-City and Basel-Country communities, however, will be a bit less lucky: tariffs there will be less than 1 percent lower.

Residents of many Valais communities, on the other hand, will enjoy a decrease of between 14 and over 17 percent.

But the residents of central municipalities around Lucerne will get the biggest break: they will pay 26.6 percent less than currently.

But there is bad news as well

Tariffs will actually go up for residents of some communities, especially in Solothurn and Schffhausen: their electricity bills will increase by up to …31.8 percent!

You can check out the 2025 tariffs in your community on this ElCom map. 

In any case, you will be soon receiving a letter from your local provider informing you of the prices in your community.