Abstract
The author presents the results of a research project on the total costs to society induced by different technologies for electric power production in the Federal Republic of Germany and the conclusions of the latest international discussion on the topic. This is to say that the problem of electricity costs is looked upon from a macroeconomic perspective including the internal or private costs as well as the social costs of electricity production. The author focuses on conventional electricity generation on the basis of fossil and nuclear fuels on the one side and on wind and photovoltaic electricity as examples for renewable energy sources on the other.