Energy prices fall, but still 61% higher than pre-pandemic – Bavarian Industry Association

The Bavarian Industry Association vbw's energy price index fell by nearly 30 percent in 2023, but the group says companies are still suffering from high energy costs. Cheaper imported coal and natural gas resulted in the price index for primary energy falling by 33.4 percentage points in 2023, despite rising costs of domestic lignite. The price index for secondary energy, which includes electricity, fell by almost a quarter. However, prices in 2023 were still 61 percent higher than the 2019 average. The vbw says high energy prices are damaging Bavaria’s international competitiveness and is calling for the continuation of subsidised grid fees, as well as a state-subsidised “bridge” power price for industry. 

Companies have struggled with high energy prices brought on by the energy crisis, which was exacerbated by Russia's invasion of Ukraine. German industry has also often criticised the price of electricity a central threat to industry competitiveness. But sweeping claims in this debate hide the fact that there is no single power price for industrial consumers, but instead an exceptionally broad range of prices. Due to a complex system of taxes and levies, they depend on how much power companies need, when they need it, how they source it, whether they compete with rivals abroad, and many other factors.