Romania registers third highest electricity price in Europe
Romanians paid EUR 516 / MWh on July 27, twice as much as the Polish and nearly three times more than consumers in Spain and Portugal. The only countries where electricity cost more were France and Italy.
European states that get a large share of their electricity through solar farms and wind turbines enjoy comparatively lower prices for electricity, according to Digi24, but only 10% of Romania's electricity comes from solar farms, while 2% comes from wind turbines.
Over 27% of Romania’s electricity comes from hydropower plants. Roughly 21% is sourced from nuclear plants. Thermal power stations that burn natural gas to generate electricity provide 21%, while 18% more originate in coal-based plants.
Gas prices have shot up as a result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the former's lower gas exports into the EU. Romania has natural gas of its own, but the Romanian energy sector is integrated into the international energy market, and prices are accordingly high. Gas, therefore, is the most expensive source of electricity nowadays.
On July 27, France paid EUR 529,6 / MWh, while Italy paid 518,3 / MWh. Romania came in third, with EUR 516. Costs for electricity were lower in many neighboring countries, among which Hungary, Bulgaria, Slovakia, and Slovenia. In these countries, prices ranged from EUR 480 / MWh to EUR 500 / MWh.
On the other side of the spectrum, Sweden paid only EUR 42,8 / MWh, while Finland paid EUR 83,2 / MWh. Portugal, Spain, and Norway all paid around EUR 148 / MWh.
(Photo source: Zalakdagli | Dreamstime.com)
