Analytics, Energy, EU – Baltic States, Gas

Household gas prices increased by 1.0% on average in the EU between the second half of 2012 and 2013, after a rise of 8.2% between the second half of 2011 and 2012, Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union, said.

Change in electricity prices ranged from a decrease of 15% in Cyprus to an increase of 22% in Estonia.

Between the second half of 2012 and the second half of 2013, the highest increases in household electricity prices in national currency were registered in Estonia (+22%), Greece (+20%), Romania (+17%), France and Lithuania (both +10%). The highest decreases were observed in Cyprus (-15%), Hungary (-14%), Spain (-9%) and Bulgaria (-8%), while prices remained stable or nearly stable in Latvia, Malta and Finland.

Expressed in euro, average household electricity prices in the second half of 2013 were lowest in Bulgaria (EUR 8.8 per 100 kWh), Romania (EUR 12.8) and Hungary (EUR 13.3) and highest in Denmark (EUR 29.4), Germany (EUR 29.2) Cyprus (EUR 24.8) and Ireland (EUR 24.1). The average electricity price in the EU28 was EUR 20.1 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 (12.8 PPS per 100 kWh), Luxembourg (13.7), Latvia (14.0) and France (14.1), and the highest in Cyprus (28.2), Germany (28.1), Portugal (26.2) and Romania (25.9).

Change in gas prices ranged from a decrease of 15% in Hungary to an increase of 10% in Romania.

Between the second half of 2012 and the second half of 2013, the highest increases in household gas prices in national currency were observed in Romania (+10%), Portugal (+9%) and the United Kingdom (+8%), and the highest decreases in Hungary (-15%), Greece (-13%), Poland (-10%), Belgium, the Czech Republic, Latvia and Slovenia (all –9%).

Expressed in euro, average household gas prices in the second half of 2013 were lowest in Romania (EUR 3.1 per 100 kWh), Hungary (EUR 4.2), Croatia (EUR 4.7) and Estonia (EUR 4.8), and highest in Sweden (EUR 12.2), Denmark (EUR 11.1), Italy (EUR 9.5) and Portugal (EUR 9.3). The average gas price in the EU28 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 (4.7 PPS per 100 kWh), Latvia (5.2), the United Kingdom (5.7), Belgium (6.0) and Romania (6.2), and the highest in Bulgaria (11.6), Portugal (11.5), Greece (10.1), Lithuania (10.0) and Spain (9.8).