European Households See Drop in Gas Bills

Household gas prices in the European Union fell by 6.3% on average between the first halves of 2016 and 2017 to stand at €58/MWh, said statistics bureau Eurostat November 29. There was a wide range, the lowest prices being less than a third of the highest, with the former Soviet republics and satellites paying least.

Among member states, household gas prices in the first half of 2017 ranged from less than €35/MWh in both Romania and Bulgaria to slightly above €80/MWh in Denmark and €120/MWh in Sweden. Taxes and levies in the EU made up on average over a third (37%) of the electricity price charged to households in the first half of 2017, and about a quarter (26%) of the gas price.

The largest falls were recorded in Croatia (-17.5%), Portugal (-15.3%), Lithuania (-11.6%), Latvia (-10.8%) and Bulgaria (-10.3%). In contrast, the highest increase was observed in Estonia (+21.1%), followed by Denmark (+12.7%) and Sweden (+10.8%).

Expressed in euro, average household gas prices in the first half of 2017 were lowest in Romania (€32/MWh), Bulgaria (€33/MWh), Hungary (€35/MWh), Croatia (€36/MWh), Lithuania (€37/MWh) and Latvia (€38/MWh) and highest in Sweden (€121/MWh), followed by Denmark (€81/MWh), Portugal (€77/MWh) and the Netherlands (€76/MWh). The average gas price in the EU was €5.8 per 100 kWh.

In the first half of 2017, taxes and levies made up the largest contribution to the price of gas for households in Denmark (55% of household gas price) and the Netherlands (53%). They were followed by Romania (47%) and Sweden (44%). At the opposite end of the scale, the smallest contributions were registered in the UK (7%) and Luxembourg (10%), ahead of Greece (16%), Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Lithuania and Slovakia (all 17%). At EU level, taxes and levies accounted on average for about a quarter (26%) of household gas prices in the first half of 2017.

The document may be seen here.