EU household power prices fall 1.6% in first half

Eurostat figures in a Euronews article published Nov. 12 showed EU household electricity prices fell 1.6% year on year and residential gas prices dropped 3.5% in the first half of 2026.

The data put average EU electricity at €28.3 per 100 kWh in first-half 2026, more than double Hungary’s €11.4, underscoring how national taxes, networks and tariffs shape household inflation.

Ireland had the highest household electricity price among EU countries in first-half 2026 at €38.7 per 100 kWh, followed by Germany at €36.2, Belgium at €35.8, Austria at €32.6, Italy at €31.4 and Sweden at €30.6. Turkey was the lowest among 38 European countries with data at €6.6.

Electricity was below the EU average in Spain at €25.1 per 100 kWh and France at €24.9 in first-half 2026. Compared with the second half of 2025, EU electricity prices were down 2.2%, while Denmark recorded a 28.2% fall and Luxembourg a 24.1% decline.

Purchasing power standards, or PPS, adjust prices for local cost levels. On that basis, Romania had Europe’s highest household electricity price at 46.9 PPS per 100 kWh in first-half 2026, ahead of Poland at 41.1 and Czechia at 34.3, while Iceland was lowest at 12.6.

Gas prices also eased, with the EU average at €11 per 100 kWh in first-half 2026. Sweden was the most expensive country in euro terms at €22, while Hungary had the lowest EU price at €3.3 and Georgia was lowest among 29 countries with data at €1.6.

The national ranking changed after adjustment for purchasing power. North Macedonia, which was slightly below the EU average in euro terms at €10.8 per 100 kWh, ranked highest in PPS terms at 20.8.

Euronews cited Xiaoyi Mu, director of the Centre for Energy, Petroleum and Mineral Law and Policy at the University of Dundee, as saying government policies help explain the variation because taxes, levies and network charges form a large part of final household prices. Euronews cited Denmark’s temporary electricity-tax cut from Jan. 1, 2026, as one example.

The article also said energy market intelligence firm VaasaETT pointed to differences in energy mix, tariff design, supplier procurement and the allocation of costs across customer groups. Those factors mean wholesale movements do not translate evenly into retail bills.

Euronews reported that prices rose in many European capitals in October and that households could face higher bills in early 2027. The article said the first-half figures cover only about four months after U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran began in late February, limiting what the period shows about later pass-through from wholesale gas markets.

Early 2027 household bills will show whether October increases in many European capitals feed into consumer costs after the first-half decline. The checkable measure is the price households pay for electricity and gas, including taxes, in national and capital-city data.

Another early-2027 test is whether countries with tax cuts or regulated tariffs continue to diverge from markets where wholesale costs pass through more directly. Euronews reported that household bills may take longer to reflect higher wholesale gas prices.

Source: data report, Euronews, Nov. 12