When is electricity cheapest?
The spot price follows a daily rhythm, but wind often reshuffles it. Here are the typical cheap hours and today’s cheapest window.
Checked by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · Method and sources
Based on actual quarter-hour prices for 45 weekdays in our archive, spot electricity has on weekdays been cheapest on average in the hours 00–01, 03–04, 02–03 and dearest in 19–20, 09–10, 10–11. At weekends (18 days) the cheapest hours have been 23–00, 05–06, 03–04. The rhythm follows demand: it peaks in the morning and early evening and is lowest at night. Wind power can make midday cheaper than night, though, so always check the day’s real cheapest window. On the page’s update day, Helsinki’s general transfer had its cheapest two-hour window starting at 04:30, at an all-in 9.44 c/kWh against a day average of 11.33 c/kWh. On night transfer, such as Elenia’s, the transfer fee is also lower from 22:00 to 07:00, pushing the cheapest time further into the night. The calculator below shows today’s cheapest window for the length you choose.
Today’s cheapest window and the saving
Cheapest window starts 04:30
9.49 c/kWh
| Day average | 11.33 c/kWh |
| Saving on this use | €0.37 |
Helen Sähköverkko, general transfer, spot contract. Prices of the page’s update day.
The typical daily rhythm
| Hour | Weekday: gap to day average | Weekend: gap to day average |
|---|---|---|
| 00–01 | -3.86 | -0.43 |
| 01–02 | -3.28 | -0.48 |
| 02–03 | -3.66 | -0.60 |
| 03–04 | -3.73 | -0.72 |
| 04–05 | -3.65 | -0.61 |
| 05–06 | -3.34 | -0.72 |
| 06–07 | -1.66 | -0.48 |
| 07–08 | +0.72 | -0.23 |
| 08–09 | +3.05 | +0.06 |
| 09–10 | +3.85 | +0.34 |
| 10–11 | +3.23 | +0.27 |
| 11–12 | +1.81 | -0.22 |
| 12–13 | +0.70 | -0.52 |
| 13–14 | +0.06 | -0.54 |
| 14–15 | -0.48 | -0.68 |
| 15–16 | -0.49 | -0.51 |
| 16–17 | +0.23 | +0.08 |
| 17–18 | +1.29 | +1.03 |
| 18–19 | +3.20 | +1.86 |
| 19–20 | +3.92 | +2.35 |
| 20–21 | +2.74 | +1.62 |
| 21–22 | +1.22 | +0.23 |
| 22–23 | +0.12 | -0.26 |
| 23–00 | -1.99 | -0.84 |
The table shows how far each hour’s spot price has on average deviated from the same day’s mean. Negative hours have been cheaper on average, positive ones dearer. The profile is computed from actual prices in our archive and refreshes daily as the archive grows. The same profile underpins the average-price estimate when the day’s prices are not yet published.
Today’s cheapest window
The average rhythm is a good rule of thumb, but the day’s real prices can differ a lot. The home page calculator finds the cheapest continuous window for the length you choose on your own operator’s transfer. On Elenia’s night transfer the update day’s cheapest two-hour window started at 04:30, at an all-in 7.48 c/kWh. Tomorrow’s cheapest window appears on the tomorrow page in the afternoon.
What to time
- Car charging: the largest flexible load, often tens of kilowatt-hours.
- Water heater: usually heats at night, and its control can be set to the cheapest window.
- Washing and drying: a small saving each time, but easy to time.
- Storage heating: a heat store or underfloor heating can charge up in cheap hours.
Remember the power fee if your product has one: running every load at once can raise the peak. Motiva explains demand flexibility and automation.
Quarter-hour prices and the cheapest time
With prices set per quarter, the cheapest window can start mid-hour. On a quarter-hour contract, timing to the quarter helps most; on an hourly contract, the hour is enough. Read more about quarter-hour pricing and negative prices, which often fall on windy nights.
Seasons change the rhythm
The daily rhythm is not the same all year. In winter demand peaks in the morning and early evening, when people wake up, come home and heating runs flat out, so the gap between night and evening is often widest and night-time use pays most. In summer demand is lower and solar power pulls midday prices down on sunny days. During the spring flood plentiful hydro can keep prices low around the clock.
The profile above therefore describes recent weeks and shifts with the seasons. Our archive grows every day, so over time the profile covers every season, and once there are enough days of the same month the average-price estimate is also built directly from that month’s actual prices.
Wind reshuffles the order
Finland’s wind capacity has grown fast, and windiness now moves the spot price more than the clock. On a windy day midday can be near zero or negative, while on a still, frosty night prices can be high. Following a rule of thumb such as “night is cheapest” can therefore cost money on some days. Tomorrow’s exact prices come out in the afternoon, and they are the basis for setting timers. Nuclear outages and limits on links to Sweden also lift the Finnish price above its neighbours at times.