Hungary boasts lowest electricity prices in the EU
Energy costs in the European Union have shown a continuous decrease in the second half of 2023, according to the latest data from Eurostat. Hungarian residents were found to pay the least for electricity at the end of last year, and the country also fared well in terms of gas prices.
The Eurostat report indicates that the price of electricity and gas in the EU started to rise before the Ukraine war and reached a peak in 2022. However, costs began to fall in the second half of 2023 as the price of supplying energy stabilized at the beginning of the year.
While energy costs are still relatively high compared to pre-2022 levels, residential electricity prices fell in 23 EU member states between 2022 and 2023. The average household electricity price in the region was EUR 28.5/100 kWh in the second half of 2023, down from EUR 29.4/100 kWh in the first half.
Gas prices followed a similar trend in some countries, with 12 reporting price increases and 12 reporting decreases. The average household gas price fell to EUR 11.3/100 kWh in the second half of 2023, down from EUR 11.9/100 kWh in the previous six months. In the industrial sector, most countries reported decreases in gas prices.
Hungary stood out as having the lowest average household electricity and gas prices in the region. The country’s electricity price was EUR 11.3/100 kWh, while its gas price was EUR 3.3/100 kWh in the first half of 2023. On the other hand, Germany, Ireland, and Belgium had the highest electricity prices, while Sweden, Ireland, and the Netherlands had the highest gas prices.
The decreasing energy costs in the EU are a positive sign for consumers, with some countries seeing significant reductions in prices. The information provided by Eurostat sheds light on the energy landscape in the region and highlights the varying costs that residents face.
