Wholesale power at 169 euros per megawatt hour in October 2026 — twice as expensive as a year ago

What the SMARD data show for October

The wholesale price for electricity on the German day-ahead market averaged 169.27 euros per megawatt hour in October 2026, according to the Bundesnetzagentur's market data on SMARD. In October 2025 it was 84.40 euros, so the price has doubled within a year; compared with September (144.82 euros) it rose by almost 17 per cent. The last time a monthly average was higher was December 2022. According to pv magazine, the transmission system operators report a solar market value of 13.39 cents per kilowatt hour for October, also a high for the year. How a business electricity price is built up from procurement, grid and levies is explained in the guide to the components of the business electricity price.

Which businesses and households are already paying the October price

The monthly figure hits everyone whose contract is linked to the spot market straight away: businesses with indexed or tranche-based procurement and households on a dynamic tariff. With a delay it reaches suppliers now buying volumes for 2027, and with them the tariffs for new customers. Landlords and tenants feel it last, through communal electricity, heat pump power and the next service charge statement.

Why October is more than an outlier

October continues a line that has been rising since the summer: 105 euros in July, 127 in August, 145 in September, now 169. Even in the third quarter expensive gas had pushed the wholesale price up despite record solar output; with shorter days, solar power now largely drops out as a price brake. “Anyone whose power is linked to the exchange price paid around 8.5 cents per kilowatt hour more in October than a year ago, before grid fees and taxes are even added.” — Pedram Dadgar, Strategic adviser to Green Contracting GmbH.

There is a flip side that matters in the budget debate: high market values reduce the support payments from the EEG account. According to the grid operators’ data, no federal subsidy flowed in October and the account remained in credit at almost 1.5 billion euros. For the business paying the bill, though, that is no consolation — the relief lands in the federal budget, not on the electricity bill.

What to do now

1. Check what share of your own power purchasing for 2026 and 2027 is linked to the spot price and when the next tranche will be fixed.
2. With dynamic tariffs and heat pumps, match consumption times against hourly prices instead of looking only at the monthly average.
3. Calculate the wholesale price, grid fees and levies for 2027 together before signing a new supply contract.