Electricity prices in the entire European Union increased sharply in the second half of 2021, compared with the same period in 2020; Estonia is leading the way with the largest electricity price hike and one of the largest gas price hikes in the entire EU.
According to Eurostat, the EU’s official statistics agency, in the second half of 2021, average household electricity prices in the European Union increased sharply compared with the same period of 2020 (€21.3 per 100 kWh), standing at €23.7 per 100 kWh.
The largest increase was registered in Estonia (+50%), ahead of Sweden (+49%) and Cyprus (+36%), Eurostat said.
The only decreases were observed in Slovakia (-6%) and Hungary (-0.1%).
The average household electricity prices in the second half of 2021 were lowest in Hungary (€10.0 per 100 kWh), Bulgaria (€10.9) and Croatia (€13.1) and highest in Denmark (€34.5), Germany (€32.3), Belgium (€29.9) and Ireland (€29.7), according to the statistics agency.
Gas prices increase by 83% in Estonia
Average gas prices in the EU also increased compared with the same period of 2020 (€7.0 per 100 kWh) to €7.8 per 100 kWh in the second half of 2021.
Between the second half of 2020 and the second half of 2021, gas prices increased in 20 of the 24 EU member states that report natural gas prices in the household sector. The largest increases in household gas prices were observed in Bulgaria (+103%), followed by Greece (+96%) and Estonia (+83%), Eurostat noted.
In contrast, the only decreases in price were recorded in Slovakia (-12%), the Czech Republic (-5%) and Portugal (-1%).
Expressed in euro, average household gas prices in the second half of 2021 were lowest in Hungary (€3.1 per 100 kWh), Croatia (€4.0) and Lithuania (€4.1) and highest in Sweden (€18.6), Denmark (€12.5), the Netherlands (€11.0) and Spain (€10.8).
Taxes and levies accounted for 36% of the electricity bills charged to households in the EU in the second half of 2021. For gas bills, the corresponding share was 30%. There were no significant changes in this price component compared with a year ago, the statistics agency said.
Read also: Estonia’s annual inflation 19%, the highest in the eurozone.
