Electricity prices - Austria

The Future Is Renewable: A 2023–2025 Snapshot of Austria’s Evolving Energy Market

Austria is charging ahead with its green energy transition—and the results from 2023 to 2025 prove it. With one of the highest shares of renewable electricity in Europe, a growing network of dynamic tariffs, and smart metering pushing energy innovation, Austria is setting an example for how a modern electricity system can blend sustainability, flexibility, and consumer empowerment.

🇦🇹 Where Does Austria’s Power Come From?

By 2023, Austria generated an impressive 87% of its electricity from renewable sources, with hydropower leading the charge—contributing about two-thirds of the total supply. Thanks to robust investments and favorable weather, solar PV production more than doubled and wind power surged to over 15% of the energy mix. Gas-fired generation, once a safety net, was significantly reduced.

🌱 Renewables Are the Backbone

Austria’s 2030 goal of 100% renewable electricity is in sight. The government’s Renewable Expansion Act (EAG) is fueling this growth, aiming to add 27 TWh of green energy annually by the end of the decade. That means more solar rooftops, wind turbines, and local energy communities. A key policy win: VAT exemptions on small-scale PV systems starting in 2024, making solar more accessible to homeowners.

💸 How Is Electricity Priced?

Electricity bills in Austria break down into three core parts:

• Energy cost (~50%): the actual electricity, priced competitively
• Network fees (~30%): regulated charges for grid infrastructure
• Taxes & levies (~20%): including VAT and renewable support fees

Government interventions like the “Strompreisbremse” (price brake) and waived renewable surcharges in 2023–2024 helped cushion customers from global energy price shocks. However, rising network fees in 2025 (+20–30% in some regions) are nudging bills upward again.

⚡ Smart Meters + Smart Tariffs = Smart Savings

With smart meter rollout nearing 95% penetration by 2024, Austrian consumers are now able to take advantage of dynamic electricity tariffs—plans where prices vary based on time or market conditions.

Two main types are gaining ground:

• Time-of-Use tariffs (e.g. night or weekend discounts)
• Real-time, hourly tariffs indexed to the wholesale market (EPEX Spot)

These give savvy users (especially those with EVs, heat pumps, or solar batteries) a chance to save by shifting their energy use to cheaper, greener hours. During oversupply, prices even go negative, meaning you could get paid to use power.

🔌 Who’s Offering Dynamic Tariffs?

By 2025, several Austrian utilities—national and regional—offer dynamic or flexible tariffs:

• aWATTar: Hourly spot-market pricing nationwide
• Energie Steiermark’s SmartEnergy: Offers both hourly and time-of-use options
• Burgenland Energie: "Voll Aktiv" real-time pricing plan
• AAE Naturstrom (Carinthia): “Naturstrom Spot Stunde” for eco-conscious consumers
• oekostrom AG: "Spot+" with optional smart automation tools
• Kelag: New “Strom Pro” plan launched in 2025

These plans often come with apps, smart home integrations, and transparent hourly pricing—perfect for those ready to take control of their energy use.

Final Thoughts: Austria’s Green Leap Forward

From hydropower to home solar panels, from policy to pricing, Austria’s energy system is rapidly becoming cleaner, smarter, and more consumer-driven. As 2025 unfolds, dynamic pricing and renewable innovation aren’t just buzzwords—they’re becoming the everyday experience of Austrian households and businesses.

Whether you're charging your EV on a windy night or timing your dishwasher for sunny midday savings, the message is clear: Austria’s electricity future is already here—and it’s 100% renewable.

Peak and Off-Peak Hours

Austria 2024 – Average Hourly Wholesale Electricity Price (EPEX)

1. The two clear price crests

*simple average of the hours within each window.

2. Mid‑day & deep‑night lulls

• Deep‑night off‑peak (01:00 – 05:00) bottoms at €0.080 – 0.083 / kWh. Base‑load nuclear, run‑of‑river hydro and wind often cover demand, so little high‑cost plant needs to run.
• Mid‑day dip (13:00 – 15:00) drops back to €0.083 – 0.087 / kWh even though demand is still moderate. Abundant solar across the Alpine–German bidding zone pushes marginal prices down; across Europe this “solar valley” has become deeper every year as PV capacity grows.

3. What the shape tells us about Austria’s system

4. How the pattern compares to neighbouring markets

The twin‑peak, solar‑valley profile is broadly shared by Germany and Switzerland, which sit in the same coupled EPEX SPOT zone. Recent market commentary attributes the sharpening of the trough mainly to the rapid build‑out of solar PV and lower fuel costs, while demand remains sticky in the morning and evening social routines.

Bottom line: 2024’s “typical” Austrian day shows a textbook morning‑and‑evening demand hump, but solar penetration is starting to carve a second off‑peak at lunchtime. Anyone able to time‑shift appliances or charge batteries between 11 am and 3 pm – or after midnight – can consistently buy power 30‑60 % below the evening marginal price.