If you've been with the default electricity or gas supplier for over three years, you're paying 30–50% too much on average. That's not a secret or a trick — it's the structural logic of the market: existing customers cross-subsidise new-customer bonuses. Switching once a year interrupts that mechanism.

The effort: 30–45 minutes once a year. The savings: €200–500 per year for a two-person household, often more.

Why default suppliers are so expensive

Default suppliers must serve everyone in their area. That obligation gets priced in. If you don't actively switch, you're subsidising the switching bonuses paid to others. It's not malice — it's a regulatory construct in which loyalty is punished.

How a switch works

1. Read your usage

Annual usage in kWh — on your last annual bill. Electricity typically 1,200 kWh (1 person), 2,500 kWh (2), 3,500 kWh (family). Gas in a 70-m² rental roughly 8,000–11,000 kWh.

2. Compare

Verivox or Check24. Set filters: 12-month price guarantee, no upfront payment, monthly billing. That filters out 80% of bad actors immediately.

3. Switch online

The new provider cancels for you. You write nothing. The switch takes 4–6 weeks, during which delivery continues uninterrupted.

4. Calendar entry for next year

Exactly 11 months later: compare again. Cheaper? Switch again. Otherwise the contract auto-renews and you're back in the loyalty trap.

Typical bonus traps

  • Instant + new-customer bonus paid after 12 months — fine, but only if you actually switch then.

  • Package tariffs with upfront payment — avoid. The provider's insolvency risk transfers to you.

  • Tariffs with "flexible price adjustment" — no protection against hikes. Minimum 12-month price guarantee is standard.

  • Bonus only in year one, then tariff above default — a losing deal from month 13 onwards without re-switching.

When it doesn't fit

  • Tenants with bundled utility billing — you don't choose.

  • Heating via heat pump or district heating — different logic, often no free market.

  • Existing contract with remaining term — wait or check special cancellation rights (e.g. after a price hike).

The ritual

Once a year, 30 minutes on a Sunday afternoon. Open the comparison site, old contract details next to it, apply for the switch, calendar reminder in 11 months. €350 less annual electricity bill — for years on end.