Setting Up Electricity and Gas (Stromanbieter)

Most utilities in a Munich flat are bundled into your rent, but electricity is the one you usually arrange yourself — and if you simply do nothing, you end up on the most expensive default tariff by accident. Setting it up properly takes minutes and can save you money for as long as you live there. This guide covers electricity and, where relevant, gas; for how heating and other running costs are billed, see our Nebenkosten guide. Here is how to get powered up sensibly.

What you arrange versus what is in the rent

First, know which utilities are yours to organise. Strom (electricity) is almost always a separate contract you sign in your own name. Heating and hot water, by contrast, are usually billed through the Nebenkosten along with water and rubbish, so you may have no separate gas contract at all — many Munich flats heat centrally. Check your lease to see exactly what is included, so you set up only what you actually need to.

The Grundversorger default

On the day you move in, you are automatically supplied by the local Grundversorger (basic provider), which in Munich is the city utility Stadtwerke München (SWM). This guarantees you have power from minute one, which is genuinely useful — but the basic tariff is rarely the cheapest. Think of it as a safety net rather than a destination: fine for the first weeks, but usually worth replacing with a better-value contract once you are settled.

Switching to a cheaper provider

Germany has a competitive electricity market, and switching is easy, free and low-risk. Use a comparison portal such as Check24 or Verivox to compare tariffs for your postcode and expected usage, then sign up online; the new provider handles the switch and your supply never gets interrupted. Watch the fine print, though: headline prices often rely on a first-year bonus and a 12-month commitment, so compare the ongoing rate and avoid tariffs that demand a large advance payment.

The meter reading and how billing works

When you move in, note the Zählerstand (meter reading) and record it on your Übergabeprotokoll — the handover protocol from our deposit guide — then give it to your provider so you are billed only for what you use. German electricity is billed as a monthly Abschlag (an estimated advance) followed by an annual reconciliation against your actual reading, much like the Nebenkosten. Submit a reading when asked each year so the settlement reflects reality rather than an estimate.

What it costs

Budget roughly €50 to €90 a month for electricity for one or two people, the figure that feeds into our monthly budget breakdown; a larger household or heavy use pushes it higher. Some providers ask for a modest deposit or set the monthly advance conservatively. If keeping your footprint green matters to you, Ökostrom (renewable electricity) tariffs are widely available and often cost little or no more than conventional ones.

Gas, if you have a separate contract

A minority of flats — typically older buildings with their own gas heating or a gas hob — need a separate Gas contract, set up exactly like electricity: a default provider on arrival, the option to switch via a comparison portal, and a meter reading at move-in. If your heating runs through the building's central system, you will not have a gas contract at all and will simply see heating costs on your annual Nebenkosten statement instead. Confirm which applies before signing anything.

When you move out

Closing down is the mirror image of setting up. On your last day, take final meter readings, note them on the move-out protocol, and either cancel your contract or transfer it to your new address, giving the provider your forwarding details for the closing bill. Do this promptly so you are not billed for a flat you have left, and so any refund on your advance payments comes back to you rather than getting lost in the change of address.

Electricity is a small task with a lingering payoff: spend a few minutes switching off the default tariff to a competitive one and you quietly save money for the whole tenancy. Note your meter reading at move-in, choose a provider with a fair ongoing rate rather than a flashy bonus, and remember that in most Munich flats heating rides along in the Nebenkosten. Sort it early and your home is powered, green if you like, and costing no more than it should.