What Does a Dynamic Electricity Tariff Cost, and Is It Really Worth It with a Solar System?

Anyone who buys their household electricity cleverly no longer pays the same price per kilowatt-hour every hour. But what is the real dynamic electricity tariff cost, and does it pay off if you already have a solar system? The honest answer: only part of your electricity price becomes dynamic, the rest stays fixed. How much you save depends on how much consumption you can shift. With a PV system, the additional benefit is usually smaller than many expect. We are a photovoltaic installer from Hannover, and below we show you, with open assumptions, where the money goes.

Dynamic Electricity Tariff Cost: Key Facts

What’s Behind the Dynamic Electricity Tariff, and How Does It Work?

With a dynamic electricity tariff, the energy price follows the day-ahead exchange price, which is set the day before for every quarter hour. Since 1 January 2025, every electricity supplier must offer such a tariff to customers with a smart metering system (Section 41a EnWG). How the tariff works, which obligations apply and who it generally suits is explained in detail in our guide What is a dynamic electricity tariff?. This page is only about money.

What Costs Come with a Dynamic Electricity Tariff?

The dynamic electricity tariff cost is made up of four blocks. Only the first one moves with the exchange:

Price components: what varies and what stays fixed

This means two things. First, even when the exchange price is negative, you still pay grid fees, taxes and levies on every kilowatt-hour. Second, the part you can influence by shifting consumption is only the energy share. The rest of your electricity price stays the same, no matter when you use power.

How to calculate the annual cost

Always compare annual costs, not the price of a single cheap hour. The formula: 12 × base fee + consumption × (your average exchange price + markup) × 1.19 + fixed grid, tax and levy components + metering costs. You compare the base fee and markup between suppliers as described in our guide to comparing dynamic electricity tariff providers.

What matters is how much consumption you shift from expensive to cheap times and how large the price difference is. The table shows gross savings including 19 % VAT. Volumes and price differences are illustrative assumptions, not a forecast:

From this you deduct costs that would not arise with a fixed price: the metering fee if you have the smart metering system installed only for the tariff, and possibly a higher base fee. Conversely, you pay more if a large share of your consumption falls into the expensive evening peak. Blanket promises such as «15 to 25 % savings» therefore cannot be made seriously.

Smart meter costs: legal price caps

Without a smart metering system there is no dynamic tariff, so its fee is part of the dynamic electricity tariff cost. What it may cost you per year is set by Section 30 of the Metering Point Operation Act (MsbG); the grid operator pays the rest. The values apply since 1 January 2025, gross per metering point:

If you order an early installation yourself, a one-off fee may apply. Germany’s consumer advice centres cite 100 € as the amount the law considers appropriate. Ask your metering point operator for the price beforehand.

Time-variable grid fees: Module 3 under Section 14a EnWG

If you have a heat pump, wallbox or battery registered as a controllable device under Section 14a EnWG, the grid operator may temporarily limit its power to 4.2 kW when the grid is at risk of overload. In return, your grid fee falls. According to the Federal Network Agency, there are three modules:

• Module 1: a flat reduction of the grid fee, about 110 to 190 € per year depending on the grid area (as of 2023).
• Module 2: 60 % lower grid energy charge; this requires a separate meter for the device.
• Module 3: since 1 April 2025, a time-variable grid fee with three price levels (high, standard, low) in fixed time windows set by your grid operator. It can only be chosen together with Module 1 and requires a smart metering system.

Module 3 is interesting for dynamic tariff users because part of the fixed price block also becomes time-dependent, which can lower the overall dynamic electricity tariff cost. The time windows and prices are in your grid operator’s price sheet; in the Hannover region this is enercity Netz or Avacon, depending on the area. In practice, Module 3 is usually ordered through your electricity supplier.

How Does a Solar System Benefit from a Dynamic Tariff?

This is where a common mistake lies. Exchange prices are often low at midday because many PV systems feed in at the same time. But that is exactly when your own solar system already covers your demand. A dynamic tariff therefore only affects the remaining electricity you draw from the grid in the evening, at night and in winter. From October to March, a PV system in Hannover produces only about 30 % of its annual yield, and these are the months with the highest grid draw.

• Maximize self-consumption during the day: solar power is the cheapest electricity for you.
• Use the home battery for the expensive evening peak.
• Shift the EV and heat pump to cheap exchange hours in winter.
• Keep feeding in surplus power: the EEG feed-in tariff is fixed and does not depend on your supply tariff.

No extra income from feed-in: new systems up to 10 kWp commissioned from 1 August 2026 receive 7.70 ct/kWh for partial feed-in, whether the exchange price is high or low. During negative exchange prices, new systems with a smart meter receive no feed-in tariff at all. Details in our article on the Solar Peak Law.

Charging the battery from the grid? Technically possible. It only pays off if the price difference between charging and discharging clearly exceeds the charging and discharging losses. Grid electricity that later flows from the battery back into the grid receives no feed-in tariff. How the battery is metered in mixed operation is governed by the EEG; see the Solar Peak Law article as well.

What Is Dynamic Tariff Optimization and Why Does It Make the Difference?

Tariff optimization means aligning consumption and storage with the next day’s prices. By hand, this only works for washing machines and dishwashers, whose share is small. The large volumes, i.e. EV charging, heat pump and battery, are shifted in practice by an energy management system. It reads the day-ahead prices and schedules when each device runs.

For the cost calculation this means: without automation, the shifted volume stays small, and so do the savings from the table above. Always weigh the costs of energy management and metering against the volume you can realistically shift.

Dynamic Electricity Tariff and Photovoltaics: Which Combination Pays Off the Most?

The more controllable large loads you have, the more likely the tariff pays off in addition to the PV system:

• PV system only: grid draw falls mainly in the evening and at night and is hardly shiftable. A dynamic tariff brings little here.
• PV + battery: the battery already covers the evening peak. In the HTW simulation, households with a PV battery system that used only a dynamic tariff even paid 4 € more per year on average.
• PV + battery + EV or heat pump: this creates larger shiftable volumes in winter, plus Module 1 or Modules 1 + 3 under Section 14a EnWG. How the technology works together is explained in photovoltaics with heat pumps and wallboxes; for the charging station see home wallbox installation.

Is a dynamic electricity tariff worth it with a PV system?

Usually only if you can control larger loads. The solar storage research group at HTW Berlin simulated the real load profiles of 27 households with battery storage in 2026, using 2024 exchange prices and time-variable grid fees from 14 grid operators. The results:

• With a PV system, the possible savings from price-optimized control fell on average from 233 € to 64 € per year.
• Most households with a PV battery system even paid more with the dynamic tariff alone, 4 € per year on average.
• The best option for all households studied was the combination of Module 1 and Module 3 under Section 14a EnWG.

Example with open assumptions: a household with a PV system and battery still draws 1,500 kWh per year from the grid (assumption). At an assumed electricity price of 0.32 €/kWh, this remaining electricity costs about 480 €. If the dynamic tariff manages to buy 500 kWh of it 10 ct cheaper (net), that saves about 60 € per year before the metering fee and base fee. With an EV or heat pump, the shiftable volume and thus the possible benefit increase.

In short: the dynamic electricity tariff cost or saving with a PV system depends on the EV, heat pump and control, not on the solar system itself. The biggest saving is still the solar power you use yourself, see Are photovoltaics worth it?.

Is Switching to a Dynamic Electricity Tariff Worth It Even Without a Solar System?

Without a solar system, the possible benefit is larger because you buy more electricity from the grid. A smart metering system is required. Under Section 29 MsbG it is mandatory for annual consumption above 6,000 kWh, for controllable devices under Section 14a EnWG and for generation systems above 7 kW. Everyone else can order the installation since 2025, and it must then be completed within four months.

Without a solar system, success depends heavily on user behavior. Anyone who is flexible and can charge large loads such as an EV at different times can lower their costs. Anyone with a rigid daily routine who cooks, heats and does laundry in the evening will barely benefit and may end up paying more.

Conclusion: When Do Dynamic Electricity Tariff Costs Really Pay Off?

The dynamic electricity tariff cost is not decided by the cheapest hour but by the volume you can shift. With an EV, heat pump, battery and automatic control it can pay off, especially combined with Modules 1 and 3 under Section 14a EnWG. With a PV system alone and no large loads, the added benefit usually stays small because you buy little electricity anyway.

We design PV systems with BYD storage, wallbox and energy management so they work with a dynamic tariff and Section 14a EnWG, in Hannover, Lower Saxony and Bremen. Request a free, no-obligation quote, call 0511 3360603 or message us on WhatsApp at +49 176 2399 8536.

Frequently Asked Questions

Note: This article provides a general overview (as of November 2026) and does not replace legal advice. All example calculations are based on the stated assumptions.