Household electricity prices up 2.4% in EU

European Union household electricity prices rose by 2.4% on average between the second half of 2014 and the second half of 2015 to reach EUR 21.1 per 100 kWh. Since 2008, electricity prices in the EU have risen by 33%. In contrast, the most noticeable decrease was observed in Cyprus (-22.0%), well ahead of Lithuania (-5.8%), Ireland (-3.2%), Estonia (-2.6%), Croatia (-1.5%) and the United Kingdom (-1.4%).

Across the EU member states, household electricity prices in the second half of 2015 ranged from below EUR 10 per 100 kWh in Bulgaria to more than EUR 30 per 100 kWh in Denmark. Household gas prices went down by 1.7% on average in the EU between the second halves of 2014 and 2015 to stand at EUR 7.1 per 100 kWh. Since 2008, gas prices in the EU have risen by 14%. Among member states, household gas prices in the second half of 2015 ranged from slightly over EUR 3 per 100 kWh in both Romania and Hungary to almost EUR 12 per 100 kWh in Sweden. Taxes and levies in the EU made up on average a third (33%) of the electricity price charged to households in the second half of 2015, and almost a quarter (23%) of the gas price.

Across the EU, the highest increase in household electricity prices in national currency between the second half of 2014 and the second half of 2015 was by far in Latvia (+26.8%) and Belgium (+15.1%), followed by Bulgaria (+6.9%), Romania (+6.1%), the Netherlands (+5.8%), Italy (+3.8%), France (+3.4%) and Portugal (+2.4%).

Expressed in euros, average household electricity prices in the second half of 2015 were lowest in Bulgaria (EUR 9.6 per 100 kWh) and Hungary (EUR 11.5) and highest in Denmark (EUR 30.4) and Germany (EUR 29.5). The average electricity price in the EU was EUR 21.1 per 100 kWh.

When expressed in purchasing power standards (PPS), an artificial common reference currency that eliminates general price level differences between countries, it can be seen that, relative to the cost of other goods and services, the lowest household electricity prices were found in Finland (12.3 PPS per 100 kWh), Sweden (14.6), Luxembourg (14.7) and France (15.2), and the highest in Portugal (29.3), Germany (28.3), Spain and Romania (both 26.5).

The share of taxes and levies in total household electricity prices varied significantly between member states, ranging from at least half in Denmark (69% of household electricity price is made up of taxes and levies), Germany (52%) and Portugal (50%) to 5% in both Malta and the U.K. in the second half of 2015. On average in the EU, taxes and levies accounted for a third (33%) of household electricity prices.

Between the second half of 2014 and the second half of 2015, household gas prices in national currency decreased in a majority of member states, with the largest falls being recorded in Estonia (-22.3%), Bulgaria (-19.1%), Denmark (-12.8%) and Lithuania (-12.6%). In contrast, the highest increases were observed in Romania (+7.2%) and Sweden (+4.4%). Expressed in euro, average household gas prices in the second half of 2015 were lowest in Romania (EUR 3.4 per 100 kWh), Hungary (EUR 3.5), Estonia (EUR 3.8) and Bulgaria (EUR 3.9) and highest in Sweden (EUR 11.7), Portugal (EUR 9.8), Spain (EUR 9.3) and Italy (EUR 9.1). The average gas price in the EU was EUR 7.1 per 100 kWh.

Adjusted for purchasing power, it can be seen that, relative to the cost of other goods and services, the lowest household gas prices were recorded in Luxembourg (4.0 PPS per 100 kWh), the United Kingdom (5.1), Estonia (5.3), Belgium (5.6) and Denmark (5.7) and the highest in Portugal (12.6), Spain (10.4), Greece and Sweden (both 9.2), the Czech Republic (9.1) and Italy (9.0).