EU: Household energy bills at record highs in 2022 (Eurostat)

Electricity bills jumped 20% and gas bills rose 46% in the EU in the second half of 2022, reaching record levels due to the war in Ukraine and fluctuations in energy prices.

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Household electricity bills in the EU jumped 20% year-on-year in the second half of 2022, while their gas bills soared 46% to record levels because of the war in Ukraine, according to Eurostat figures released Wednesday.

Over the period from July to December 2022, electricity prices for households averaged 28.4 euros per 100 kWh across the EU, a jump of 21% compared to the same period in 2021, the European statistics office said. This is a consequence of soaring wholesale electricity prices, which are de facto indexed to the production cost of the last power plant used to balance supply and demand, most often a gas-fired plant.

Natural gas prices have risen sharply as Russia has ceased deliveries to Europe. However, Eurostat points out the strong disparities between countries, as well as the different impacts of support measures taken by national governments. The share of taxes in electricity prices has 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 noted in Austria, Germany, Poland and Bulgaria (4 to 5%). The increase in France was 9%. And household electricity bills have even fallen over the past year in Malta – where prices are regulated – and in the Netherlands, where consumers have been helped by tax breaks.

Expressed in euros, average electricity prices for households ranged from about 11 euros/100 kWh in Hungary and Bulgaria to about 45 euros in Belgium and 59 euros in Denmark. Similarly, gas bills for EU households averaged 11.4 euros per 100 kWh in the second half of 2022, up from 7.8 euros a year earlier. Eastern European countries, which are heavily dependent on Russian gas, have been hit hard: gas prices have more than tripled in the Czech Republic, jumped by about 160% in Romania and Latvia, and doubled in Lithuania and Belgium. Only two countries (Croatia and Slovakia) recorded increases of less than 20%, according to Eurostat.

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