Romanians pay one of the highest electricity prices in the EU by comparison to their purchasing power. Only Germany, Portugal, Cyprus and Spain recorded higher energy prices, according to EU’s statistical office Eurostat.

The EU institution used the purchasing power standards (PPS), an artificial common currency which excludes price differences in each country. Romania recorded in the second half of 2014 an average cost of 24.4 PPS for 100 kWh of electricity. In Germany, the power price amounted in the same period to 28.5 PPS, in Portugal and Cyprus it reached 27.4 PPS and in Spain the price recorded 26 PPS.

Expressed in euro, average household electricity prices in the second half of 2014 were lowest in Bulgaria (EUR 9 per 100 kWh) and Hungary (EUR 11.5) and highest in Denmark (EUR 30.4) and Germany (EUR 29.7). The average electricity price in the EU was EUR 20.8 per 100 kWh. Romania has a price of EUR 12.5 per 100 kWh.

The share of taxes and levies in total household electricity prices varied significantly between member states, ranging from more than 50% in Denmark (57% of household electricity price is made up of taxes and levies) and Germany (52%) to 5% in both Malta and the United Kingdom in the second half of 2014. For Romania, taxes and levies covered more than a quarter of the electricity price.  On average in the EU, taxes and levies accounted for almost a third (32%) of household electricity prices, according to the Eurostat.

The full Eurostat release is here.

editor@romania-insider.com