Portugal has cheaper electricity than Spain and Europe’s average in the first half of the year
In a year in which electricity and natural gas prices are soaring globally, Portugal shows a globally positive scenario for consumers, with regard to the months of January to June. Around here, electricity was cheaper on average than in Spain, the European Union (EU) and the eurozone.
Natural gas was also more affordable for Portuguese non-domestic customers compared to the same three territories, although domestic customers no longer selected benefited from Spain and the euro zone.
“In the first half of 2021, Portugal registered a decrease in electricity prices in the domestic (-1.7%) and non-domestic (-1.8%) segments, compared to the same period of 2020”, asks the Regulatory Authority of Energy Services (ERSE), in a bulletin published this Wednesday where it compares electricity prices in Portugal with electricity prices in Eurozone and European Union countries, based on Eurostat data.
Electricity prices for domestic consumers were 12.5% more expensive in Spain than in Portugal in the first half, 10% higher in the Eurozone and 3.2% in the European Union. With regard to non-domestic goods, in Spain companies supported prices above Portuguese prices (0.2%), but in the Eurozone and the EU as a whole they paid 18.7% and 11.3% more, respectively.
Portugal is, even so, the eighth country in the European Union with the highest prices in the segment of domestic consumers. The lowest schools are generally in Eastern European countries. The three countries with the highest prices are Germany, Belgium and Denmark, while Bulgaria, Hungary and the Netherlands are at the opposite extreme.
As for domestic appliances, the comparison is made without taking into account the Value Added Tax (VAT) and, in this scenario, electricity prices in Portugal are again lower than the average prices in Spain, as well as in countries in the area of euro and the European Union. Portugal is in 13th.
However, in this segment (business consumption), a component of fees and taxes is the third highest in the European Union, essentially due to CIEG (General Economic Interest Costs), which represent 31% of the final price (excluding VAT). in the newsletter.
Cheaper gas especially for non-domestic
“In the first half of 2021, Portugal registered a decrease in natural gas prices in the domestic segment (-3.6%), compared to the same period of 2020. In the non-domestic segment, this decline was more pronounced (-15.8% ) ), which is due, above all, to the reduction in the prices of natural gas supply in international markets”, says an ERSE.
In the non-domestic segment, prices in Portugal are more competitive than in Spain, the Eurozone and the European Union, where prices are 5.3%, 18.9% and 17% above, respectively. Portugal is the sixth country in the EU where natural gas is cheaper.
However, with regard to household items, there are lower prices in Spain (-2.4%) and in the European Union (-5.8%), and Portugal is once again the eighth most expensive in the EU.
In terms of taxation, the opposite is noted in the electricity market. In the non-domestic segment, a tax component is one of the lowest in the European Union, corresponding to around 3% of the final price.