# Setting Up Utilities in Germany (2026) > Set up electricity and gas in Germany: the supply address and SEPA account you need, how to leave the Grundversorgung, notice periods, and when a smart meter is required. By Jules de Bruin ยท URL: https://www.guide-germany.com/energy/setting-up-utilities A German electricity contract needs two things: a **German supply address** and a **SEPA bank account** for the direct debit. Not one tariff in this catalogue requires a formal **Anmeldung**. From your first day in the flat the **Grundversorger** supplies you automatically, at 37.93 cents per kWh in Berlin against 24.12 cents for the cheapest switcher listing, both on a 3,500 kWh a year profile. Leaving the Grundversorgung takes two weeks notice, and nothing gets switched off in the meantime. ## What do you need to sign an energy contract? Less than most newcomers expect. Not one tariff in this catalogue requires a formal [Anmeldung](/moving/address-registration). What is required is a German supply address and [a SEPA bank account](/finance/open-bank-account) for the direct debit. That means you can arrange your electricity contract before your registration certificate exists. ### What the supplier asks for - German supply address including postcode - SEPA bank account for the direct debit - Expected annual consumption in kWh - No formal Anmeldung needed The postcode is not a formality. The price hangs off your Netzbetreiber's grid area: Vattenfall lists the same tariff at roughly 26.4 cents per kWh in Cologne and 34.2 cents in Hamburg purely by postcode, and EnBW and MAINGAU publish no national list price for some products at all, only a quote per postcode. ## How do you sign a new electricity contract? You choose [the Stromanbieter](/energy/providers), not the Netzbetreiber. The Netzbetreiber follows from your address and stays the same through every switch, with its network fee still on the bill. Switching retailer is therefore pure paperwork: the new supplier cancels your old contract or your Grundversorgung and takes over supply. Check three things before signing: the consumption profile behind the annual figure, whether a new-customer bonus is baked into it, and the notice period. Notice periods in this catalogue run from two to six weeks before the end of the term. Miss one and the contract renews automatically at whatever price applies then. ## How do you set up natural gas? Gas is a separate contract with its own default supplier, and it is not necessarily the same company as for electricity. In Berlin, GASAG is the gas Grundversorger and NBB Netzgesellschaft runs the network. The process mirrors electricity: supply address, SEPA account, choose a tariff. Gas tariffs in this catalogue are quoted on a 12,000 kWh a year profile, not the 3,500 kWh used for electricity. The Berlin gas Grundversorgung charges 11.64 cents per kWh against 9.52 cents at the cheapest switcher tariff. The same rule applies: an annual figure without its consumption profile is not comparable. ## What happens when you move in? You do not have to do anything on move-in day, and that is exactly the trap. Move in, use electricity, choose nobody, and [the local Grundversorger](/energy/electricity-gas) supplies you automatically. The catalogue notes explicitly that nothing is cut off while you move or switch. That convenience lasts exactly one day. In Berlin, Vattenfall's Grundversorgung costs 37.93 cents per kWh, roughly EUR 560 a year above [the cheapest switcher tariff](/energy/providers-price-research); in Munich the SWM Grundversorgung at 31.17 cents runs about EUR 360 a year above the cheapest Munich switcher tariff. Both figures assume a 3,500 kWh a year profile. The way out is free: the Grundversorgung has no minimum term and is cancellable at any time on two weeks notice. Do it in your first weeks, not in your first year. ## Do you need a smart meter? Not for an ordinary fixed or green tariff. Only the dynamic tariffs require an intelligent metering system, and the catalogue records it as installed in just 5.5% of households. Ostrom SimplyDynamic and dynamicOctopus both need one, Octopus organises and pays for the installation, and in slow grid areas the wait can run to months. Two suppliers work around it. Tibber bridges the gap with its EUR 89 Pulse device, and rabot.home flex is usable without an intelligent metering system at all, though without one you cannot shift consumption into the cheap hours on purpose. ## Related Guides [### Energy in Germany Sector overview.](/energy)[### Electricity and gas How the market and bill work.](/energy/electricity-gas)[### Best energy providers Ranking by tariff type.](/energy/providers)[### Address registration How to register your address in Germany.](/moving/address-registration) ## Frequently Asked Questions ### Do you need the Anmeldung before you can set up electricity? No. Not one tariff in this catalogue requires a formal Anmeldung. What you need is a German supply address and a SEPA bank account for the direct debit. ### Can your power be cut off while you switch? No. The catalogue records explicitly that Grundversorgung supply cannot be cut off while you move or switch: you stay supplied until the new contract takes over. ### How long is the notice period? Leaving the Grundversorgung takes two weeks notice. The switcher tariffs in this catalogue carry notice periods of two to six weeks before the end of the term. ### Are there suppliers with English-language service? Yes. The catalogue records English-language service at E.ON, Ostrom, Tibber, and Octopus Energy. The other suppliers in the catalogue operate in German. --- Source: https://www.guide-germany.com/energy/setting-up-utilities Last updated: n/a Format: LLM-readable Markdown twin (.md) of the canonical HTML page.