Filenews 3 November 2024 - by Theano Thiopoulou
A price gap between Member States is recorded in the EU-27 regarding the cost of electricity borne by households. The so-called common market is non-existent as far as the electricity market is concerned, and this is criticized by European governments, including the Greek one.
Household electricity prices increased in 10 and decreased in 15 EU countries in the first half of 2024, compared to the first half of 2023.
Cyprus is the seventh most expensive country in electricity for domestic consumers, including all taxes, which have a relatively large share in the final price, compared to the rest of the European states, while the price for non-household consumers in our country is one of the most expensive.
If electricity prices, according to Eurostat data, are measured in purchasing power standards of citizens, Cyprus remains among the most expensive European states in energy.
28.9 average, 32.7 Cyprus
According to data released by Eurostat a few days ago, average household electricity prices in the EU increased slightly compared to the second half of 2023 and stood at 28.9 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh) from 28.3 cents per kWh.
These are final prices, including taxes and other charges but also subsidies, where they have existed.
In Cyprus, average electricity prices in the first half of 2024 stood at 32.74 cents per kWh and with these prices Cyprus was in the top ten countries among the "27" countries of the European Union with the highest prices.
For non-household consumers, the highest electricity prices were observed in Ireland and Cyprus. Non-household consumers are defined as medium-sized consumers, with annual consumption between 500 MWh (Megawatt hours) and 2,000 MWh. The highest electricity prices for non-household consumers in the first half of 2024 were in Ireland (25.6 cents per KWh) and Cyprus (24.5 cents per KWh). The lowest prices were observed in Finland (9.28 cents per kWh) and Sweden (9.42 cents per kWh). The average price in the EU in the first half of 2024 was €18.67 cents per KWh and in the Eurozone (19.25 per KWh).
Cost per country
According to the analysis of Eurostat data by 'F', for household consumers in the EU (defined as medium-sized consumers with annual consumption between 2,500 kilowatt hours (KWh) and 5,000 KWh), the highest electricity prices in the first half of 2024 were in Germany (39.51 cents per KWh), Ireland (37.36 per KWh), Denmark (37.07 per KWh), Czechia (33.81 per KWh), Belgium (33.54 per KWh), Italy (32.74 per KWh), Cyprus (32.41 per KWh), France (27.76 per KWh), Austria (27.31 cents per KWh), Netherlands (26.95 cents per KWh), Latvia (25.46 cents per KWh), Finland (24.65 cents per KWh), Spain (24.36 per KWh), Sweden (24.34 per KWh), Portugal (24.26 cents per kWh), Lithuania (23.15 per KWh), Estonia (23.00 per KWh), Greece (21.73 per KWh), Poland (21.12 per KWh), Slovenia (20.84 per KWh), Luxembourg (20.29 per KWh), Romania (18.83 cents per KWh), Slovakia (18.06 cents per KWh), Croatia (14.72 cents per KWh), Malta (12.56 per KWh), Bulgaria (11.87 per KWh) and Hungary (10.94 per KWh).
Prices and purchasing power
In purchasing power standards (it is an artificial monetary unit and theoretically with a PPS the consumer can buy the same amount of goods and services in each country), electricity prices were highest in the Czech Republic (42.2) and Cyprus (36.1). In short, this means that based on their purchasing power, Cypriot consumers pay the second most expensive electricity in the EU. The lowest electricity prices based on the purchasing power criterion were observed in Malta (14) and Luxembourg (15.3).
Electricity prices for non-residential consumers rose in a few states and fell in most from the first half of 2023 to the first half of 2024. Increases were reported only in Portugal (20.4%), Germany (6.2%) and Lithuania (1.2%), while Latvia and Malta reported negligible price changes. In the remaining 22 Member States, electricity prices for non-household consumers decreased. The largest price decreases were recorded in France (-32.3%) and Slovakia (-29.9%).
In Cyprus the decrease was 11.2%, in Sweden 11.4%, in Spain 14.2%, in Italy 14.4%, Netherlands 16.2%, Luxembourg 17.6%.
Distribution network
Countries with lower population density require a more extensive transportation network to meet their needs. Its cost is higher compared to countries with higher population density. Smaller, densely populated countries mainly use their own distribution network. The most recent data available on transmission and distribution costs are for 2023, where Luxembourg (100.0%), Slovakia (95.5%) and France (91.4%) had the highest shares of distribution costs. On the other hand, Hungary (40.5%), Ireland (36%) and Estonia (33%) had the highest shares of transport costs. They are followed by Germany, Poland, Croatia and Cyprus.
We also pay a high tax for electricity
The average share of electricity taxes in the EU in the first half of 2024 stood at 16.6%, an increase compared to the second half of 2023 (11.8%), which is also at a higher level compared to the first half of 2023 (10.0%).
In the EU-27, the smallest share of taxes in the first half of 2024 was in Luxembourg, where prices were actually negative (-49%). Negative taxes, reflecting subsidies and allowances, were also observed in Ireland, Austria, the Netherlands and Latvia. In the first half of 2024, the share of taxes was highest in Poland and Italy, where sunk taxes and contributions accounted for 38.8% and 27.5% of the total price, respectively.
In Cyprus the price in the first half of 2024 was €0.2453, excluding taxes it was €0.1834 and the share of taxes amounts to 25.6%. In the other countries the share of taxes is Netherlands 22.2%, Belgium 21.8%, Greece 17.9%, Germany 15.1%, Slovakia 14.2%, Romania 11.5%, Spain 11.2%, Czech Republic 10.6%, France 9.1%, Slovenia 8.8%, Estonia 8.1%, Portugal 7%, Croatia 6.3%, Austria 1.6%, Denmark 1.3%, Latvia 1.2%, Malta 1.1%. According to Eurostat data, the share of taxes is smaller in Bulgaria 0.9%, Finland 0.8%, Ireland 0.7%, Sweden 0.5%, Luxembourg 0.3%, Lithuania 0.2%.
