Electricity price in Austria today
The spot price of electricity hour by hour in AT (AT), Friday, 23 October 2026.
Austria has had its own electricity price since 1 October 2018, when the common German-Austrian market was divided in two. More than half of its power comes from water: run-of-river stations along the Danube, Inn and Drava, and reservoirs and pumped storage high in the Alps. Snowmelt and rainfall therefore shape the Austrian day-ahead price as much as gas does, and it usually moves in step with the German one.
The country has never generated nuclear power, and its last coal plant closed in 2020. Its law aims for renewables to cover all electricity consumption, on an annual balance, by 2030.
Today electricity costs 21.9 c/kWh in AT (AT) on average.
LiveSource: Bundesnetzagentur | SMARD.de
Hour by hour
The three cheapest hours in a row are 11–14 (average 13.8 c/kWh). The dearest hour is 07–08.
Show every hour as a table
| Hour | Spot price (c/kWh) | Level |
|---|---|---|
| 00–01 | 20.7 | Cheap |
| 01–02 | 20.7 | Cheap |
| 02–03 | 20.9 | Middle |
| 03–04 | 20.9 | Cheap |
| 04–05 | 20.9 | Middle |
| 05–06 | 23.6 | Middle |
| 06–07 | 26.6 | Dear |
| 07–08 | 29.4 | Dear |
| 08–09 | 25.9 | Dear |
| 09–10 | 23.1 | Middle |
| 10–11 | 19.0 | Cheap |
| 11–12 | 15.0 | Cheap |
| 12–13 | 13.3 | Cheap |
| 13–14 | 13.0 | Cheap |
| 14–15 | 16.7 | Cheap |
| 15–16 | 20.2 | Cheap |
| 16–17 | 24.9 | Dear |
| 17–18 | 24.4 | Middle |
| 18–19 | 25.0 | Dear |
| 19–20 | 24.5 | Dear |
| 20–21 | 26.9 | Dear |
| 21–22 | 25.3 | Dear |
| 22–23 | 22.4 | Middle |
| 23–00 | 21.5 | Middle |
The spot price is the exchange price, the average of the hour's four quarter-hour prices, before taxes, network tariffs and VAT.
Where does the electricity in Austria come from right now?
Generation in Austria at 23:00, by energy source. SMARD's figures run 3–4 hours behind.
Bundesnetzagentur | SMARD.de, CC BY 4.0
Household price since 2023
Average price per kWh, all-in, for a household using 2,500–5,000 kWh a year. Source: Eurostat (nrg_pc_204).
A household in Austria using 2,500–5,000 kWh a year paid 32.6 c/kWh on average, all-in, in H1 2026, 12% more than a year before (Eurostat).
Eurostat's figure for each half-year, with taxes, levies, network costs and VAT. Updated twice a year.
How the electricity price works in Austria
Out of the German zone in 2018
For years Austria and Germany traded electricity as if they were one country. Because the lines across the border could not carry every trade, the zone was split, and since then Austria's hourly price has come from its own bidding zone in the European day-ahead coupling. Vienna has its own power exchange, EXAA. The regulator E-Control sets grid tariffs, and Austrian Power Grid (APG) runs the high-voltage network. Households have been free to choose their supplier since 2001; most contracts carry a fixed or periodically adjusted price per kWh, while hourly tariffs remain a niche.
Grid areas, Elektrizitätsabgabe and green-power charges
Where you live decides a good part of the bill. E-Control fixes the system usage charges for each grid area, so a household in Vienna pays different network costs from one in Carinthia or Tyrol. On top come the federal electricity levy (Elektrizitätsabgabe), charges that fund new renewable plants under the Renewable Expansion Act, in some municipalities a local usage fee, and finally VAT.
From December 2022 to the end of 2024 the state subsidised a basic amount of every household's consumption through the Stromkostenzuschuss, often called the electricity price brake. That support has ended, so bills again carry the full contract price.
Water levels, gas and the pull of Germany
The year has a rhythm. From late spring, melting snow fills the rivers and run-of-river plants produce at full tilt; in winter flows drop, Austria imports more and gas-fired plants run more often, which tends to lift the price. Reservoir and pumped-storage plants buy cheap power when German wind and solar flood the market and sell it back in the evening peak. Since the Austrian grid is tightly meshed with Germany's, prices on both sides usually differ only in hours when the cross-border lines are full.
Rivers, Alpine reservoirs and a growing share of wind and sun
Hydropower is the backbone. Chains of run-of-river stations on the Danube supply steady baseload, while high-altitude reservoirs such as those at Kaprun and in the Malta valley store energy for when it is needed. Wind turbines stand mainly in the flat east, in Lower Austria and Burgenland, and solar panels have spread quickly across roofs. Gas plants and biomass from the country's forests fill the rest. There is no nuclear power and, since the Mellach plant closed in 2020, no coal either.
Austria among its neighbours
Germany, with which Austria shared a price until 2018, sets the tone with wind, solar, coal and gas, and its prices spill over the border almost hour by hour. The Czech Republic still relies on coal and nuclear, a mix Austria has long criticised. Switzerland resembles Austria with its Alpine reservoirs but adds nuclear power, while Italy depends heavily on gas and imports from the north, partly through Austrian lines.
Austria compared with its neighbours
In 2024, hydro made 53%, wind made 12% and solar made 10% of the electricity generated in Austria. Wind, solar, hydro, nuclear and bioenergy together made 81% of generation in Austria.
Gross electricity generation in 2024 by energy source. Source: Eurostat (nrg_bal_peh). Pumped hydro is left out. Switzerland: SFOE (BFE), electricity balance; storage hydro includes pumped storage.
Voltly does not cover Austria yet
Voltly shows hourly prices in Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Germany, France, Netherlands and Belgium.
Voltly is for Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Germany, France, the Netherlands and Belgium.
Questions about the electricity price in Austria
- What does electricity cost in Austria today?
- In AT (AT) the spot price averages 21.9 c/kWh today. It is cheapest at 13–14 with 13.0 c/kWh and dearest at 07–08 with 29.4 c/kWh. Network tariffs, taxes and VAT come on top.
- What does an ordinary household in Austria pay for electricity?
- A household in Austria using 2,500–5,000 kWh a year paid 32.6 c/kWh per kWh on average, all-in, in H1 2026, according to Eurostat. The price varies with the network company and the contract.
- How much of the electricity in Austria comes from hydro?
- 53% of the electricity generated in Austria came from hydro in 2024 (Eurostat), the largest single source.
- Why has Austria had its own electricity price since 2018?
- Until 30 September 2018 Germany, Austria and Luxembourg formed one bidding zone with a single price. The lines between Germany and Austria could not carry all the trade this allowed, and the flows strained grids in neighbouring countries. The zone was therefore split on 1 October 2018. Since then Austria has had its own price, which is often close to the German one but can differ when the border is congested.
- Why does Austria have no nuclear power?
- A nuclear plant was built at Zwentendorf on the Danube, but in a referendum in November 1978 a narrow majority voted against starting it, and it never produced a single kilowatt-hour. A law the same year banned nuclear power, and a constitutional act in 1999 confirmed a nuclear-free Austria.
- Is Austrian electricity cheaper in summer than in winter?
- On the wholesale market it often is. From spring to late summer, snowmelt and rain fill the rivers and solar output peaks, while in winter hydro output falls and imports and gas plants fill the gap. Most household contracts smooth this out over the year, so the seasonal swing shows mainly in the day-ahead price and in hourly tariffs.