Berlin privatised its power company several years ago and introduced competition into the market supposedly to lower prices and improve service. Prices have gone up ever since and the main office of Berlin’s largest power company is in Sweden – most would agree the privatisation was a failure. Still, you have a wide variety of providers to choose from, though most Berliners have stuck with Vattenfall, the Swedish company that bought Berlin’s electric company. In addition to cut-rate providers such as eprimo, there are a number of environmentally conscious companies, like Lichtblick and Greenpeace Energy, which buy power exclusively from renewable sources (wind, water and sun).

The power will already be on wherever you move in. You’ll just need to call your provider of choice and give them the date of your move and the current numbers on your electricity meter. You’ll pay a set monthly fee (probably about €100) and once a year they’ll send someone out to read the meter and either send you a bill or offer a refund. Then they’ll set a new monthly fee for the next year.

eprimo www.eprimo.de 0180 10 10 600
Greenpeace Energy www.greenpeace-energy.de 040 808 110 330
Lichtblick www.lichtblick.de 0180 2660 661
Nuon www.nuon.de 0180 11 50 111
Vattenfall www.vattenfall.de 0180 1267 267