Spain sees biggest electricity price drop in whole of EU during first half of year

Spanish households have paid an average of 18.23 euro cents per kwh, much lower than in the Netherlands (47.5 cents), Romania (42) and Germany (41.3)

José María Camarero

Madrid

Sunday, 29 October 2023, 13:26

Spain witnessed the biggest electricity price drop in the whole of the EU for the first half of 2023 compared to January-June 2022, when the Russian invasion of Ukraine heavily impacted costs.

Between January and June, electricity was 41% cheaper in Spain than in the same period last year, according to records released by Eurostat. The European statistical office said that the EU is beginning to emerge from the energy crisis thanks to the "stabilisation" of gas prices.

This factor, the cost of gas, is the one largely responsible for the fall in prices in Spain during the first half of the year. It was also this factor that caused the highest increases in energy costs in Spain from January-June 2022, when they were the highest in the EU. A turning point came in June last year, when the European Commission allowed Spain and Portugal to activate the Iberian mechanism limiting the cost of gas in daily price formation.

• Daily electricity prices in Spain for regulated rate customers: Data from the Red Eléctrica de España showing the cost per kilowatt-hour at different times of the day

According to Eurostat, Spain was one of the few EU countries that was spared the electricity price hike between January and June this year that affected 22 of its 27 countries and which in the case of the Netherlands led to a phenomenal increase of 953%. Other countries with large price increases were Lithuania (+88%), Romania (+77%) and Latvia (+74%).

Alongside Spain, with a fall of more than 41%, other countries where electricity prices have also fallen include Denmark (-16%), Portugal (-6%), Malta (-3%) and Luxembourg (-0.4%).

Spanish households have paid an average of 18.23 euro cents per kwh. This is slightly higher than in other countries such as Hungary (11.4 cents), Hungary (11.6) and Malta (12.6), but much lower than in the Netherlands (47.5 cents), Romania (42) and Germany (41.3).

The reduction in the price of electricity bills also includes the reduction and suspension of taxes that are still in force in Spain, with IVA, the Spanish sales tax, which is at the legal minimum of 5%, as opposed to the usual 21%; and the electricity tax, at 0.5%, as opposed to the usual 5.1%.

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