Expensive MWh, cheap KWh
was among the cheapest markets in Europe in terms of the price of electricity paid by households in the fourth quarter of 2022, while in the same period it had the most expensive wholesale markets.
The significant discrepancy between the wholesale and retail price of electricity was a result of the generous subsidies which were largely covered by the producers' surpluses in the wholesale market, with the imposition of the cap from July 2022 onward.
According to the European Union report on the European electricity market in the fourth quarter of 2022, the average price of electricity at the European level increased by 21% to 29.5 cents/kWh compared to the corresponding quarter of 2021. Greek households paid well below the European average per kilowatt hour, at 17.07 cents. The lowest electricity prices were paid by households in the Netherlands (8.4 cents/kWh), Bulgaria (11.3), Hungary (12.2) and Malta (14.7). The most expensive price was paid by consumers in Denmark (62.4 cents).
Greece owes its place in the list of cheap countries – based on the retail electricity rates – exclusively to government subsidies, since otherwise it is one of the most expensive markets in Europe on the wholesale level, where the real cost of electricity is formed.
In the fourth quarter of 2022, the Greek market was the most expensive in Europe, with a megawatt-hour price of 246 euros, when the average European price was €187/MWh, reduced by 45% compared to the third quarter of the same year. In fact, the Greek market is recorded in the Commission's report as the exception, since, as it notes, prices continued to rise throughout the quarter compared to the rest of Europe, reaching a maximum of €414/MWh on December 14.
The Greek market owes this first place to the fact that the fuel mix is largely based on natural gas, as well as to the convergence of prices with the also expensive Italian market. Another factor is the €10/MWh fee imposed from November on gas used for electricity generation.