With a dynamic electricity contract, your electricity price follows the wholesale energy market. Prices can change throughout the day, giving you the opportunity to save by using electricity when prices are lower.
How are electricity prices determined?
Electricity prices are based on supply and demand in the energy market.
When plenty of renewable energy is available, for example from wind or solar power, prices are often lower. When demand for electricity increases, prices tend to rise.
The wholesale electricity price is only one part of your total electricity costs. Depending on your market, additional costs may include:
- Taxes and government charges.
- Grid and metering fees.
- Tibber's fees and other applicable charges.
How often do electricity prices change?
Wholesale electricity prices are set in 15-minute intervals.
However, how these prices are applied to your consumption depends on your market, electricity meter and billing arrangement.
- With interval-based billing: Your consumption is charged according to the market price during the interval when you used electricity.
- Without interval-based billing: Your consumption may be charged using an average or weighted electricity price instead.
This means shifting your electricity consumption to cheaper periods may not always directly reduce your bill.
When are electricity prices published?
The electricity prices for the following day are generally published around 13:00 each day.
You can check today's prices and the available prices for tomorrow in the Tibber app or on the Tibber website.
Can electricity prices become negative?
Yes. When electricity production exceeds demand, wholesale market prices can become negative.
However, a negative market price doesn't automatically mean you'll get paid to use electricity. Taxes, grid fees and other charges may still apply.
Saving with dynamic electricity prices
If your consumption is billed according to the time you use electricity, you can reduce your costs by shifting energy-intensive activities to cheaper periods.
For example, you can:
- Charge your electric car when electricity prices are lower.
- Run appliances during cheaper periods.
- Use Tibber's smart features to automatically optimise supported devices.
Checking electricity prices in the Tibber app
Open the Tibber app to see current electricity prices and available upcoming prices.
You can also use Analysis to explore your electricity consumption and costs.
For details about how dynamic pricing and billing work in your country, select your market in the bottom-right corner of this page to visit your local Tibber Support Center.