Energy crisis in Europe: Which countries have the cheapest and most expensive electricity and gas?

Annual energy inflation in the EU reached a record level. The annual energy inflation rate exceeded 40 per cent in June 2022, and then prices began falling gradually. 

In February 2023, energy inflation was considerably lower (16.6 per cent) compared to the same period in the previous year (28.7 per cent). 

However, many households and businesses still struggle with the cost of energy. European governments have allocated significant support to households and businesses to mitigate the impact of larger energy bills in the midst of overall cost-of-living crises.

In February 2023, residential electricity prices including taxes in the EU varied from 9.2 euro cents per kilowatt hour (c€/kWh) in Hungary to 49.9 c€/kWh in Ireland according to the Household Energy Price Index (HEPI). These prices reflect the costs in the capital cities of each country rather than the average rate.

Ireland was followed by Germany (49.5 c€/kWh), the Great Britain (48.5 c€/kWh) and Italy (48 c€/kWh). At the bottom, Hungary was followed by Malta (12.3 c€/kWh), Croatia (14.4 c€/kWh) and Bulgaria (15.3 c€/kWh)

The EU average was 28.3 c€/kWh. Prices were lower in France (26.7 c€/kWh) and Spain (24.1 c€/kWh) than the EU average.

The lowest cost was in Ukraine 4.4 c€/kWh.