According to Eurostat, residential electricity prices in the European Union rose by 2.9% on average in 2014 to reach €20.8c/kWh, i.e. more than 30% above their 2008 levels. Electricity prices for households rose significantly in France (more than 10%), Luxembourg (+5.6%), Ireland (+5.4%), Greece (+5.2%), Portugal (+4.7%), the United Kingdom (+4.6%) and Spain (+4.1%), while they decreased in Belgium (-7.8%), Slovakia (-9.2%), the Netherlands (-9.6%), Hungary (-9.9%), the Czech Republic (-10.2%) and Malta (-26%).
In the second half of 2014, electricity prices ranged from €9c/kWh in Bulgaria to €29.7c/kWh in Germany and €30.4c/kWh in Denmark. In these two countries, taxes account for more than 50% of residential electricity prices -respectively 57% and 52%- contributing to high prices. On average in the EU, taxes and levies accounted for almost a third (32%) of household electricity prices.
Where gas is concerned, residential prices rose by 2% on average (+35% since 2008). They rose by 4.5% in France, 7.5% in Spain and 11.4% in Portugal, while they fell by more than 10% in Greece (-10.1%), Denmark (-10.3%), Slovenia (-10.7%), Hungary (-13%) and Lithuania (-18.6%).
In the second half of 2014, average household gas prices ranged between €3.2c/kWh in Romania and €11.4c/kWh in Sweden (average EU price of €7.2c/kWh). On average in the EU, taxes and levies accounted for 23% of residential gas prices (from 5% in the United Kingdom to 61% in Denmark); in Romania, where gas is the cheapest, taxes account for 52% of residential prices.