Electricity Prices for Households
Electricity prices for household consumers in the EU stood at €0.289 per kWh (all taxes and levies included) in the first half of 2023, according to the latest Eurostat data. This is only slightly higher than in the second half of 2022, indicating that electricity price levels have stabilised in 2023, though current prices are still at record high levels.
Household consumers in the Netherlands, Belgium, Romania and Germany faced the highest electricity prices in the first half of 2023. In the Netherlands, a medium-sized household with an annual consumption between 2,500 kWh and 5,000 kWh saw an average price of €0.48 per kWh.
A more detailed breakdown of electricity prices for different household consumption groups shows that Italy has the highest prices for the smallest consumer groups (less than 1000 kWh, while the Netherlands have the highest prices for the two largest consumer groups (5000 kWh to 14999 and above 15000 kWh in annual consumption).
Electricity prices for household consumers increased in almost all European countries in the first half of 2023 compared to the same period in 2022. The largest increases (including taxes) occurred in the the Netherlands, Liechtenstein and Lithuania.
The chart below provides a more detailed view of electricity prices over time at country-level from 2007 to 2023. Note that not all countries have data for the full period covered by Eurostat data:
There is significant variation in the impact of taxes and levies on electricity prices for consumers. The highest share of taxes and levies on the final retail price was observed in Poland, Cyprus and Sweden in the first half of 2023.
Price levels differ greatly between European countries. The following visualization display electricity prices measured in Eurostat’s purchasing power standard (PPS). The PPS is calculated so that one unit of PPS buys the same amount of goods and services in each country, adjusting for differences in price levels. When electricity prices are measured in PPS, the highest prices for household consumers in the first half of 2023 were observed in Romania, Cyprus and the Netherlands.
Electricity Prices for Non-Households
For non-household consumers, such as industrial, commercial and other users not included in the households sector, average electricity prices in the EU stood at €0.21 per kWh (excluding VAT and other recoverable taxes and levies), according to the latest Eurostat data for the first half of 2023. This is the same as in the second half of 2022.
Non-household consumers in Romaina, Liechtenstein and Hugary faced the highest electricity prices in the first half of 2023.
The below table shows a more detailed breakdown of electricity prices for different consumer groups:
Electricity prices for non-household consumers increased in the majority of European countries in the first half of 2023 compared to the same period in 2022. The largest increases occurred in Liechtenstein, Hungary and France.
The chart below provides a more detailed view of electricity prices over time at country-level from 2007 to 2023. Note that not all countries have data for the full period covered by Eurostat data:
The highest share of taxes and levies on the final retail price was observed in Poland, Cyprus and the Netherlands in the first half of 2023.
When electricity prices are measured in purchasing power standard (PPS) to adjust for differences in price levels, the Eurostat data shows they were highest for non-household consumers in Romania, Hungary and Croatia in the first half of 2023.
Natural Gas Prices for Households
In the first half of 2023, the average gas price for EU household consumers reached a new record level of €0.119 per kWh, according to the latest Eurostat data.
Currently, household consumers in the Netherlands and Sweden faced the highest gas prices. In the Netherlands, a medium-sized household with an annual consumption between 20 and 200 Gigajoules saw an average price of €0.25 per kWh, more than double the EU27 average.
While the Netherlands had the highest price for medium-sized consumers, Sweden had the highest prices for the smallest and largest all consumption groups. For consumers with an average consumption of less than 20 Gigajoules, gas prices in Sweden (€0.37) were more than double the EU27 average (€0.14).
In the first half of 2023, gas prices for household consumers increased in almost all European countries compared to the same period in 2022. The largest increases (including taxes) were observed in Latvia, Romania and Austria.
The chart below provides a more detailed view of natural gas prices over time at country-level from 2007 to 2023. Note that not all countries have data for the full period covered by Eurostat data:
Comparing prices with and without taxes and levies shows that Denmark, the Netherlands and Sweden had the highest tax share on the final retail price for household consumers in the first half of 2023.
When adjusting for price level differences between countries, gas prices (in PPS) were highest in Romania, North Macedonia and the Netherlands in the first half of 2023.
Natural Gas Prices for Non-Households
Average gas price for EU non-household consumers, such as industrial, commercial and other users not included in the households sector, stood at €0.083 per kWh in the first half of 2023, a slight increase from the second half of 2022.
Non-household consumers in Moldova, Luxembourg, and Romania faced the highest gas prices in the first half of 2023.
A closer look at prices for different consumption groups, shows that Moldova and Sweden had some of the highest prices across most groups in the first half of 2023.
Gas prices for non-household consumers increased in the majority of European countries (with data) in the first half of 2023 when compared to the same period in 2021. The largest increases occured in Hungary, Moldova and Slovakia.
The chart below provides a more detailed view of natural gas prices over time at country-level from 2007 to 2023. Note that not all countries have data for the full period covered by Eurostat data:
Sweden, the Netherlands and Lichtenstein had the highest tax share on the final overall price for non-household consumers in the first half of 2023.
When adjusting for price level differences between countries, gas prices (in PPS) were highest in Romania, Poland and Hungary in the first half of 2023.
About the data
The data presented on this page is based on Eurostat’s electricity price statistics (households and non-households), and Eurostat’s natural gas price statistics(households and non-households). Data is published twice annually by Eurostat.
Note that the article shows data for all countries Eurostat publishes data for, including non-EU member countries, to give the broadest possible picture of price developments in European countries.
Changelog
- First release December 2022, with Eurostat data covering the first half of 2022.
- Updated in April 2023 with data from Eurostat covering the second half of 2022.
- Updated in September 2023 with data for non-household consumers.
- Updated in October 2023 with Eurostat data covering the first half of 2023.