Eurostat: large fall in electricity prices

Household electricity prices in Cyprus fell by nearly 25 per cent in the second half of 2020 compared to the year before, the second largest decrease in the EU.

According to Eurostat, prices fell in 14 EU member states during the second half of 2020 compared to the second half of 2019. The largest decreases in household electricity prices were observed in the Netherlands (-33.8 per cent), followed by Cyprus (-24.1 per cent) and Sweden (-17.2 per cent).

The largest increase was registered in Luxembourg (+10.3 per cent), ahead of Poland (+9.7 per cent) and Slovakia (+8.8 per cent). Cost of energy was the main driver for these increases.

Average household electricity prices in the EU decreased slightly compared with the second half of 2019 (€21.7 per 100 kWh), standing at €21.3 per 100 kWh.

In the second half of 2020 they were lowest in Bulgaria (€9.8 per 100 kWh), Hungary (€10.1) and Estonia (€12.9) and highest in Germany (€30.1), Denmark (€28.2) and Belgium (€27.0).

Taxes and levies accounted for 40 per cent of the electricity bills charged to households in the EU in the second half of 2020.