Electricity bills for households in the EU jumped 20% year on year in the second half of 2022, while their gas bills soared 46% to record highs due to the war in Ukraine, according to Eurostat figures released on Wednesday.
Over the period from July to December 2022, electricity prices for households reached on average across the European Union 28.4 euros per 100 kWh, a jump of 21% compared to the same period of 2021, said the European statistics office.
A consequence of soaring wholesale electricity prices, de facto indexed to the production cost of the last plant used to balance supply and demand, most often a gas-fired plant.
However, the price of natural gas soared as Russia ceased its deliveries to Europe.
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Differences between countries
However, Eurostat highlights strong disparities between countries, as well as the diverse impacts of the support measures taken by national governments.
The share of taxes in electricity prices has thus been reduced by almost half in Europe.
In the second half of the year, the largest year-on-year increases were recorded in Romania (+112%), Czech Republic (+97%), Denmark (+70%), Lithuania (+65%) and Latvia (+59%) .
Conversely, much more moderate increases were observed in Austria, Germany, Poland and Bulgaria (4 to 5%).
The increase in France is 9%.
And household electricity bills have even fallen over a year in Malta, where prices are regulated, as well as in the Netherlands, where consumers have been helped in particular through tax reductions.
Expressed in euros, the average electricity prices for households varied from around 11 euros/100 kWh in Hungary and Bulgaria, to around 45 euros in Belgium and 59 euros in Denmark.
Similarly, EU household gas bills averaged €11.4 per 100 kWh in the second half of 2022, down from €7.8 a year earlier.
The Eastern countries, very dependent on Russian gas, have been heavily affected: gas prices have more than tripled in the Czech Republic, jumped by around 160% in Romania and Latvia, and they have doubled in Lithuania as in Belgium.
Only two countries (Croatia and Slovakia) recorded increases of less than 20%, according to Eurostat.
