Is it worth electrifying your cottage through the electricity grid?

When you are considering electrifying your cottage, the first option is often to connect to the electricity grid. For many, this is the natural choice, but few people consider how much it will actually cost to buy and maintain a connection. If the cottage is remote or on an island, the costs can quickly mount up to a surprisingly high level.

The cost of setting up a connection can surprise you

The single most important factor in the price of an electricity connection is the distance of your plot from the nearest electricity transformer. If the distance is less than 800 metres, the connection may still cost a reasonable amount, but a distance of more than 800 metres can easily raise the price to tens of thousands of euros.

Examples of real costs:

• Nearest access point about 1 km: cost to the site boundary €43 000 plus cabling within the site

• Cottage site on an island, distance 700 m: cost to the property boundary 40 000 EUR

• Distance of around 2 km: cost could be up to €170 000 or more

The cost of laying the cables and building the transformers is borne by the subscriber. The cost of the underground cable alone can be more than €3 per metre, plus excavation and construction work.

Pricing of zones and additional costs

Electricity companies often use zones in their tariffs, where costs are determined by distance. According to Caruna’s example pricing:

• Zone 1 (less than 300 m from the transformer): €2 640

• Zone 2 (300-600 m): €3 420

• Zone 3 (600-800 m): €4 100

If your plot is located more than 800 metres from a transformer, the price of a connection consists of the connection fee, the cost of extending the network and a capacity reserve. Extension costs alone can run into tens of thousands of euros.

Ongoing costs of electricity connection

After the subscription fee, there will be ongoing charges. These include fixed monthly charges, transmission and tax charges based on energy consumption, and the actual price of electricity.

Example of annual running costs without electric heating:

• Online service fee: €180 per year

• Basic fee: €326 per year

• Electricity transmission and tax: around €146 per year for 1000 kWh consumption

In total, the fixed and consumption charges alone amount to around €650 per year, even if electricity use is low. If the cottage is equipped with electric heating and energy consumption increases, the costs can rise several times over.

What are the fixed fees?

The online service fee is not only a right to use electricity, but also covers, among other things:

• Electricity metering and customer service

• Fault services and network maintenance

• Costs of network development and new investments

Even if you are not actively using your connection, you still have to pay the fixed charges.

Are there alternatives?

When the cost of connecting to the electricity grid becomes high, many people start to consider alternatives. A ready-made off-grid system, such as Wattium, can be an economically and practically viable solution. It enables self-sufficient electricity generation without connection fees and ongoing monthly costs. It also gives you the freedom to place your cottage exactly where nature is at its most beautiful – without worrying about cabling or grid accessibility.

Use the calculator below to work out how much it costs to buy a fixed electricity network on a monthly basis compared to a Wattium installation: