Eurostat: Serbia among countries with relatively cheap electrical energy

Serbia is among the countries with relatively cheap electrical energy, and the average price per 100 kWh in the second half of last year amounted to EUR 18.16, according to Eurostat data, as reported by Bloomberg Adria.

In the second half of the year, Montenegro also found its place among the European countries with the lowest prices of electrical energy for households, as shown by the latest Eurostat data.

With an average price of EUR 16.49 to EUR 18.16 per 100 kilowatt-hours (kWh), Montenegrin households pay considerably less than the EU average, which amounts to EUR 28.49, reports the RTCG portal.

That difference is additionally emphasized considering the purchasing power parity, because the citizens of numerous more developed countries are exposed to much higher costs for basic energy sources. For example, households in the Czech Republic pay as much as EUR 41 for the same amount of electrical energy, whereas the prices in Germany and Cyprus exceed EUR 35.

Last Tuesday, Eurostat published its regular semi-annual comparison of the prices of electrical energy and gas for EU member states, with additional data for some other European countries. Years-long data show that the prices of electrical energy have stabilized in the past two years, whereas the price of gas slightly grew in the second half of last year, after it previously dropped in three consecutive half-year periods.

However, the prices of both energy sources are still considerably higher than before the inflation jump caused by the pandemic and Russia’s attack on Ukraine. For example, in the second half of last year, it was expected that households in the EU would pay EUR 28.49 for 100 kWh of electrical energy on average. Four years before, the same quantity of electricity cost EUR 7 less, which means that it grew by a third. At the same time, the price of gas grew more than 70 percent.

Taking into account the differences in per capita income and including all the taxes and fees, electricity was the most expensive in the Czech Republic. The households which consume between 2.5 thousand and five thousand kWh a year there had to pay EUR 41 per 100 kWh. Cyprus and Germany were close in terms of prices, where the same quantity of electricity cost EUR 35.7 and EUR 35.23 respectively.

The EU average amounted to EUR 28.49, whereas households in Croatia paid EUR 21.71, which is among the highest prices of electricity in Europe.

In Slovenia, electricity was somewhat more expensive, EUR 23.29, whereas Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina, along with Serbia, are among the countries with relatively cheaper electrical energy. In those countries, the prices ranged between EUR 16.49 and EUR 18.16. Eurostat doesn’t have the data for North Macedonia for the second half of last year, but in the first half, the price there was similar to that in Croatia – EUR 21.41 per 100 kWh.

Iceland had the cheapest electricity in Europe, at least among the countries for which Eurostat has the data. There, 100 kWh cost EUR 12.2 in the second half of last year.

Iceland uses geothermal sources for a fourth of its production of electrical energy.

When it comes to gas prices, households in Serbia pay around EUR 8.07 for gas in an energy value of 100 kWh, whereas in North Macedonia, the price reaches as much as EUR 20.53, which is the highest price recorded in Europe.

Montenegro is also in the group of countries with relatively favorable prices of natural gas, although Eurostat does not have precise data for all countries outside the EU.

The favorable price of energy in Montenegro is a result of several factors, including the model of regulated tariffs, domestic production from hydro power plants, as well as limited participation in the liberalized market.

The price of natural gas for households in Serbia, by purchasing power parity, which means that the comparison also takes into account the exchange rates and the differences in personal income between the countries, was among the lowest in Europe in the second half of last year.

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