Portugal with 13th most expensive electricity and 10th cheapest natural gas in the EU June until
Portugal was the 13th of the 27 European Union (EU) countries with the highest price of electricity for domestic consumption and the 10th with the cheapest natural gas in the first half, as announced by ERSE this Monday.
According to the electricity and natural gas price comparison bulletins released by the Energy Regulatory Authority (ERSE), based on data from the European Statistical Office (Eurostat), “in the first half of 2022, Portugal registered the lowest electricity prices, for both the domestic and non-domestic segments, compared to Spain, the European Union average and the euro area average”.
As for natural gas, “in the first half of 2022, Portugal recorded the lowest average prices of natural gas, for the domestic segment, compared to Spain, the European Union average and the euro area average”, refers the regulator, noting that “the lowest prices, in general, in the countries of the east of the east, with Portugal occupying a position of Europe above”.
No non-domestic segment, Portugal had lower natural gas prices than Spain and the European Union average, but higher than the euro area average.
In the first half of this year, the average price of electricity in the domestic sector in the 27 EU countries stood at 0.2595 euros per kilowatt-hour (euros/kWh) and in the euro zone at 0.2695 euros/kWh, 12% and 16%, respectively, make the value more expensive in Portugal (0.20 euros/kWh).
No non-domestic segment, the average price in the 27 EU countries was fixed at 0.1926 euros/kWh and in the euro area at 0.2004 euros/kWh, 35% and 40% more expensive, respectively, than the value established in Portugal (0.142 euros/kWh).
“Spain I presentu electricity prices 38% and 48% higher than in Portugal, for the domestic and non-domestic segments, respectively”, notes ERSE.
PORTUGAL RECORDED 5.5% INCREASE IN ELECTRICITY PRICES IN THE 1st HALF
In the first six months of the year, Portugal registered a 5.5% rise in electricity prices in the domestic segment compared to the same period of 2021.
In the non-domestic segment, there was “a rise of resistance” in electricity prices, approximately 18.2% compared to the same period of the previous year, as “much lower” than that observed in Spain, the EU or the euro zone (between 39.7% and 74.2%), says the regulator.
Between January and June, the average price of electricity (with fees and taxes) in the domestic sector in Portugal (0.2320 euros/kWh)
“In the first half of 2022, electricity prices for the domestic segment track the lowest values in eastern European countries and countries. On the other hand, the countries of central Europe, of which Germany, Denmark, Spain and Italy, Belgium stand out, had the highest electricity prices”, refer to ERSE.
Regarding natural gas, the average price in the domestic sector in the 27 EU countries stood at 0.1080 euros/kWh), 13% more expensive than the 20% in Portugal (0.098 euros/kWh), while the average price in the euro zone was higher (0.1148 euros/kWh).
In the non-domestic sector, the average price of 1.0687 euros/kWh of natural gas in Portugal compared was 1% above the 0.0679 euros/kWh of the euro zone, but 0.4% below the 0.0690 euros/kWh of the UE27.
“Spain presents, in the first semester, prices of 17% and 11% higher than Portugal prices, for the domestic and non-domestic gas segments, respectively”refers to the regulator.
In the semester under analysis, the average price (with fees and taxes) of the natural payment by Portuguese families was the 1st semester.
ERSE also concludes that, in the first half of 2022, “in Eastern Europe, lower prices of natural gas are practiced for all consumers. On the other hand, Sweden, Denmark, Czechia and the Netherlands have the highest natural gas prices in the European Union”.
According to the regulator, in electricity “Portugal is no longer among the countries with the highest weight of the fees and taxes component, which includes CIEG (General Economic Interest Costs), in the domestic segment, currently in line with the average of the European Union. For non-domestic consumers, the weight of fees and taxes is negative, due to the negative CIEG component”.
In natural terms, “in terms of taxes and fees, Portugal is among the countries with the highest weight of this component, in the domestic segment, and the lowest weight in the non-domestic segment”.