Most significant decreases in prices of energy in nominal value of local currency for household power have been enjoyed by Holland, Cyprus, Lithuania, Romania and Ireland, in the second half of 2016, as compared with the H2, 2015, Eurostat reveals.
Household electricity prices decreased in the European Union (EU) by 2.3% on average between the second half of 2015 and the second half of 2016. They now stand at €20.5 per 100 kWh. In the same period, household gas prices went down by 10.5% on average to €6.4 per 100 kWh.
Since 2008, both electricity and gas prices in the EU have risen by around a quarter (+23% and +26% respectively).
On average, taxes and levies accounted for more than a third (36%) of the electricity bills charged to households in the second half of 2016, and about a quarter (26%) of the gas prices.
Between the second half of 2015 and the second half of 2016, the largest decreases in household electricity prices, in national currencies, were observed in the Netherlands (-13.8%) and Cyprus (-11.8%), followed by Lithuania (-5.8%), Romania (-5.6%) and Ireland (-4.7%). In contrast, the most noticeable increase was registered in Belgium (+16.7%), well ahead of Sweden (+7.7%) and Portugal (+3.5%).
Expressed in euro, average household electricity prices in the second half of 2016 were lowest in Bulgaria (€9.4 per 100 kWh), Hungary (€11.3) and Lithuania (€11.7), and highest in Denmark (€30.8), Germany (€29.8) and Belgium (€27.5).
When expressed in purchasing power standards (PPS), it can be seen that, relative to the cost of other goods and services, the lowest household electricity prices were found in Finland (12.8 PPS per 100 kWh), Luxembourg (14.4) and the Netherlands (14.7), and the highest in Portugal (30.2), Germany (28.7), Belgium (25.7), Spain (25.6) and Romania (25.4).
Between the second half of 2015 and the second half of 2016, household gas prices, expressed in national currencies, decreased in all Member States, except in Hungary (+1.5%), the Netherlands (+0.6%) and Sweden (+0.2%). The largest falls were observed in Croatia and Bulgaria (both -20.4%), ahead of Latvia (-16.3%), Portugal (-15.9%), Estonia (-14.6%), Belgium (-14.0%), Luxembourg (-13.3%) and Greece (-13.1%).
Expressed in euro, the average household gas prices in the second half of 2016 were lowest in Bulgaria (€3.1 per 100 kWh), Romania (€3.2), Estonia (€3.3), Hungary (€3.6) and Croatia (€3.7) and highest in Sweden (€11.4), followed by Spain (€8.6), Italy (€8.4), Portugal (€8.3) and the Netherlands (€8.1).
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 (3.5 PPS per 100 kWh), followed by Estonia (4.6), the United Kingdom (4.7) and Belgium (5.0). In contrast, the highest prices were registered in Portugal (10.6), Spain (9.6), Sweden (9.2), the Czech Republic (8.8) and Italy (8.6).