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Electricity pylons in Meckenheim
Photo: REUTERS
In an international comparison, German consumers spend an enormous amount of money on electricity.
This is shown by an analysis of 133 countries that the comparison portal Verivox carried out with purchasing power-adjusted data from the energy service Global Petrol Prices and that is available to SPIEGEL.
Overall, the Federal Republic of Germany is in 15th place in the international ranking. Most states with even higher electricity prices are crisis-ridden developing countries such as Rwanda, Sierra Leone or Burkina Faso, in which some residents cannot afford electricity at all.
The only EU countries in which electricity prices are even higher than in Germany, according to Verivox, are the Czech Republic (13th place) and Romania (14th place).
Among the G20 countries, Germany is by far the country with the most expensive electricity.
In Italy and Great Britain, which follow in second and third place, electricity prices are around 10 and 12.5 cents cheaper, respectively, adjusted for purchasing power.
In many other countries with a high standard of living, electricity, adjusted for purchasing power, is even at least half cheaper than in Germany.
These include Canada, Norway, the United States, Switzerland, Finland, Sweden, and the Netherlands.
Global Petrol Prices data is from the second quarter of the current year.
The current sharp price hike in the Federal Republic has not yet been taken into account in the calculations.
According to Verivox, German consumers had to pay an average of 34.79 cents per kilowatt hour of electricity in October 2021.
The costs have risen to a record for the fourth month in a row.
Over the past twelve months, electricity has risen by an average of 20.9 percent for consumers - according to Verivox, the increase is stronger than ever before.
On the stock exchange for wholesalers, electricity has even become around 140 percent more expensive since the beginning of the year.
Overall, electricity prices in Germany have more than doubled since the turn of the millennium.
No significant relief is expected at the turn of the year.
Although the EEG surcharge is falling significantly, rising network charges and high procurement costs are putting pressure on prices at the same time.