Hungary’s dynamic electricity tariff: is it worth it?

Live data · Hungarian day-ahead market (HUPX), quarter-hourly, since 2021

From 1 January 2027, households and micro-businesses buying electricity from MVM Next under the universal service can switch from the fixed A1 tariff to the dynamic D tariff (“D árszabás”, applications open since 1 September 2026). D-nap is an independent, free calculator that tells you, from your own smart-meter data or MVM bill, whether D would have been cheaper for you. The calculator is in Hungarian; this page explains the essentials in English.

How the D tariff works

• Up to 2,523 kWh a year (the regulated “rezsicsökkentett” band, pro rata per day) you pay the same discounted price on both tariffs: 35.29–36.39 HUF/kWh gross including network charges, depending on the distribution area.
• Above the band, A1 charges a fixed 31.80 HUF/kWh net energy price (70.10 HUF/kWh gross with network charges and 27% VAT).
• D charges the month’s quarter-hourly HUPX day-ahead prices, weighted by your own consumption, plus a 13.70 HUF/kWh supplier fee. Network charges and VAT are the same as on A1.
• So D only pays off if most of your consumption above the band falls into cheap quarter-hours (sunny middays, nights, weekends) and market prices stay low.

What the data says

• With actual prices from September 2025 – August 2026, D would have been cheaper for none of six typical households. A family of four using 3,300 kWh a year would have paid about 32,264 HUF more a year on D. Details (HU)
• Since 2021, the simple average D price above the band was higher than A1’s in all 69 complete months (at today’s fees). Risks and worst months (HU)
• Negative prices are increasingly common: 894 negative quarter-hours on 54 days in 2026 so far, almost all around midday. Negative prices (HU)

Who can choose it?

• MVM Next universal-service customers (households, and micro-businesses with fewer than 10 employees);
• a remotely read smart meter with monthly settlement on actual (time-series) consumption;
• it applies to the general (A1) meter only; a separately metered “B” (controlled, night) or “H” (heat pump) circuit keeps its own tariff;
• with rooftop solar only under gross (not net-metering, “szaldó”) settlement;
• if you switch back to A1 within 12 months, you cannot choose D again for 12 months.

Since 31 August 2026, a smart meter can be requested free of charge once per supply point from your distribution network operator (not from MVM Next); it must be installed within a year. Smart meter request (HU)

Using the calculator

1. Download your quarter-hourly consumption (Excel/CSV) from your distributor’s portal (E.ON, ELMŰ, OPUS TITÁSZ, MVM), or take your MVM Next PDF bill. Where to download (HU)
2. Open the calculator and drop the file onto the upload box. No registration; the file is processed in memory and not stored, and PDF bills are read in your browser.
3. The result shows the yearly difference between A1 and D, month by month, and “what if” scenarios (EV charging, battery, solar).

Open data

Quarter-hourly HUPX prices and the resulting D tariff price since 2021 are available as CSV and JSON under CC BY 4.0: open data. Today’s prices: today · tomorrow. A Home Assistant REST sensor is ready to copy: Home Assistant.

D-nap is independent and not affiliated with MVM or the distribution network operators. Sources: MVM Next D tariff terms and fee notice, 4/2011 NFM decree, MEKH H 2995/2025 network charges, HUPX prices via Bundesnetzagentur | SMARD.de (CC BY 4.0), MNB exchange rates. Press and data enquiries: kapcsolat@dnap.hu · press page (HU)