Germany, Belgium, and Ireland had some of the highest household electricity prices worldwide, as of June 2024. At the time, German households were charged around 0.39 U.S. dollars per kilowatt-hour, while in Belgium, the price stood at 0.37 U.S. dollars per kilowatt-hour. By comparison, in Qatar, residents paid more than 10 times less. What is behind electricity prices? Electricity prices vary widely across the world and sometimes even within a country itself, depending on factors like infrastructure, geography, and politically determined taxes and levies. For example, in Denmark, Belgium, and Sweden, taxes constitute a significant portion of residential end-user electricity prices. Reliance on fossil fuel imports Meanwhile, thanks to their great crude oil and natural gas production output, countries like Iran, Qatar, and Russia enjoy some of the cheapest electricity prices in the world. Here, the average household pays less than 0.1 U.S. dollars per kilowatt-hour. In contrast, countries heavily reliant on fossil fuel imports for electricity generation are more vulnerable to market price fluctuations. The top importers of natural gas in Europe in 2023 were Germany and Italy, where this energy source constitutes a relevant share of the power mix.

In March 2024, industrial electricity prices in the European countries of Poland, Italy, and the United Kingdom were among the highest in the world, at over 0.40 U.S. dollars per kilowatt-hour. Singapore was the Asian country with the highest electricity bill worldwide at that time. Lowest electricity prices in the world The average retail electricity price in the United States was considerably lower than in most of Europe. Iceland was the European country with one of the lowest electricity bills for enterprises that month. At the bottom of the ranking were also Russia, Iraq, Qatar, Argentina, and Libya. In these countries, commercial electricity prices amounted to less than 0.1 U.S. dollars per kilowatt-hour. Household electricity prices In addition, European countries had the highest household electricity prices worldwide that month, with Italy at the top of the ranking. By comparison, Iran and Ethiopia had the lowest residential electricity prices in the world.

This dataset provides values for ELECTRICITY PRICE reported in several countries. The data includes current values, previous releases, historical highs and record lows, release frequency, reported unit and currency.

Middle Eastern and African countries had the cheapest electricity prices worldwide in December 2023. Namely, the electricity price for Iran's households was only 0.2 U.S. cents per kilowatt-hour of electricity. Ethiopia, Syria, Cuba, and Sudan also had some of the lowest electricity prices worldwide that month.

This dataset provides values for ELECTRICITY PRICE reported in several countries. The data includes current values, previous releases, historical highs and record lows, release frequency, reported unit and currency.

This dataset provides values for ENERGY PRICES reported in several countries. The data includes current values, previous releases, historical highs and record lows, release frequency, reported unit and currency.

In most European cities, energy prices constituted the main share of the residential end-user electricity price in February 2024. Energy price shares are among the highest in the capital cities of Cyprus, Malta, and Ireland, which are largely reliant on energy imports. Copenhagen, Stockholm, and Brussels account for the largest share of energy taxes in the region. In the Danish capital, for instance, energy taxes -including VAT- represented 47 percent of the residential electricity price. Household electricity prices around the world Italy and Germany have some of the highest electricity prices in the world. Heavily reliant on natural gas imports, these two countries were profoundly stricken by the 2022 energy crisis. Overall, Western Europe is the most expensive region for household power purchases, while many large energy producing countries such as Russia and Saudi Arabia offer their residents the cheapest average rates. Heating gas prices in European cities In terms of residential use gas prices in Europe, Stockholm was the most expensive city in January 2024. Inhabitants of Sweden's capital paid for gas nearly 40 percent more than consumers in Bern, Switzerland, which ranked second. Imports dominate Sweden's gas supply.

The Energy Price Forecast dataset provides monthly updates to Platts Analytics' latest outlook, in addition to historical cases that enable users to easily compare how outlook has evolved over time.

This dataset provides values for ENERGY PRICES. reported in several countries. The data includes current values, previous releases, historical highs and record lows, release frequency, reported unit and currency.

This dataset provides values for ELECTRICITY PRICE reported in several countries. The data includes current values, previous releases, historical highs and record lows, release frequency, reported unit and currency.

Comparison of average electricity prices for residential and industrial use in various countries

In 2023, the United Kingdom had the highest industry electricity price worldwide, reaching 25.46 pence per kilowatt-hour. By comparison, the Norway had the lowest price among the listed countries, at 5.31 pence per kilowatt-hour.

Wholesale electricity prices in the European Union (EU) increased in 2024 after recovering from the global energy crisis in 2023. This was the result of a myriad of factors, including increased demand in the “post-pandemic” economic recovery, a rise in natural gas and coal prices, and a decline in renewable power generation due to low wind speeds and drought. Nuclear power's critical role In 2023, nuclear and wind were among the leading sources of electricity generation in the EU, accounting for more than one-third of the output. Nuclear energy continues to play a crucial role in the European Union's electricity mix, generating approximately 619 terawatt-hours in 2023, which accounted for about 20 percent of the region's power production. However, the future of nuclear power in Europe is uncertain, with some countries like Germany phasing out their nuclear plants while others maintain their reliance on this energy source. The varied approaches to nuclear power across EU member states contribute to the differences in electricity prices and supply stability throughout the region.

Renewable energy's growing impact As Europe strives to decarbonize its energy sector, renewable sources are gaining prominence. Wind power in Europe, in particular, has seen significant growth, with installed capacity in Europe reaching 257.1 gigawatt hours in 2023. This expansion of renewable energy infrastructure is gradually reshaping the electricity market, potentially leading to more stable prices in the long term. However, the intermittent nature of some renewable sources, such as wind and solar, can still contribute to price fluctuations, especially during periods of low output.

This map shows electricity access in Asia and the Pacific. The data source is from the International Energy Agency’s World Energy Outlook. The International Energy Agency’s World Energy Outlook first constructed a database on electrification rates for WEO-2002. The database once again was updated for WEO-2015, showing detailed data on national, urban and rural electrification.

The general paucity of data on electricity access means that it must be gathered through a combination of sources, including: IEA energy statistics; a network of contacts spanning governments, multilateral development banks and country-level representatives of various international organisations; and, other publicly available statistics, such as US Agency for International Development (USAID) supported DHS survey data, the World Bank’s Living Standards Measurement Surveys (LSMS), the UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean’s (ECLAC) statistical publications, and data from national statistics agencies. In the small number of cases where no data could be provided through these channels other sources were used. If electricity access data for 2013 was not available, data for the latest available year was used.

For many countries, data on the urban and rural breakdown was collected, but if not available an estimate was made on the basis of pre-existing data or a comparison to the average correlation between urban and national electrification rates. Often only the percentage of households with a connection is known and assumptions about an average household size are used to determine access rates as a percentage of the population. To estimate the number of people without access, population data comes from OECD statistics in conjunction with the United Nations Population Division reports World Urbanization Prospects: the 2014 Revision Population Database, and World Population Prospects: the 2012 Revision. Electricity access data is adjusted to be consistent with demographic patterns of urban and rural population. Due to differences in definitions and methodology from different sources, data quality may vary from country to country. Where country data appeared contradictory, outdated or unreliable, the IEA Secretariat made estimates based on cross-country comparisons and earlier surveys.

This dataset provides values for ENERGY PRICES. reported in several countries. The data includes current values, previous releases, historical highs and record lows, release frequency, reported unit and currency.

Pakistan CCI: Energy Prices: Compared to Last 6 Mos data was reported at 66.030 Unit in Sep 2018. This records a decrease from the previous number of 75.700 Unit for Jul 2018. Pakistan CCI: Energy Prices: Compared to Last 6 Mos data is updated monthly, averaging 69.900 Unit from Jan 2012 (Median) to Sep 2018, with 41 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 85.390 Unit in Jan 2012 and a record low of 54.620 Unit in Mar 2016. Pakistan CCI: Energy Prices: Compared to Last 6 Mos data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by State Bank of Pakistan. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Pakistan – Table PK.H003: Consumer Confidence Survey.

Global electricity prices for households averaged some 18 U.S. cents per kilowatt hour as of 2016. Europe and North America had the highest average prices, while households in sub-Saharan Africa paid the least for electricity. Germany has one of the highest electricity prices in the world at about 33 U.S. cents per kilowatt hour; in comparison, the price of electricity in the United States averaged 13 U.S. cents per kilowatt hour. As Germany transitions from fossil fuels to renewable sources through the country’s Renewable Electricity Energy Sources Act (EEG or Erneuerbare-Energien-Gesetz), electricity prices have increased via taxes and levies on commercial and residential consumers. Prices are very different across the world and can also vary within municipalities in many countries.

Determining electricity rates Electricity prices (also called electricity tariffs) depend on a variety of factors such as price of primary power generation sources, government taxes, and grid infrastructure. A large portion of electricity prices are based on wholesale electricity costs. Tariffs will also differ based on customer groups, usually categorized by residential, commercial, and industrial customers. For example, prices for industrial customers tend to be very close to the wholesale price of electricity as they tend to consume more power at higher voltages which is more efficient, and thus, cheaper. Customers tend to be differentiated by load size and usage profiles – how much the customer contributes to the peak load is also important in determining rate class.

This table contains consumer prices for electricity and gas. Weighted average monthly prices are published broken down into transport rate, delivery rates and taxes, both including and excluding VAT. These prices are published on a monthly basis. The prices presented in this table were used to compile the CPI up to May 2023. Prices for newly offered contracts were collected. Contract types that are no longer offered, but have been in previous reporting periods, are imputed. The average can therefore diverge from the prices paid for energy contracts by Dutch households.

Data available from January 2018 up to May 2023.

Status of the figures: The figures are definitive.

Changes as of 17 July 2023: This table will no longer be updated. Due to a change in the underlying data and accompanying method for calculcating average energy prices, a new table was created. See paragraph 3.

Changes as of 13 February: Average delivery rates are not shown in this table from January 2023 up to May 2023. With the introduction of the price cap, the average energy rates (delivery rates) of fixed and variable energy contracts together remained useful for calculating a development for the CPI. However, as a pricelevel, they are less useful. Average energy prices from January 2023 up to May 2023 are published in a customized table. In this publication, only data concerning new variable contracts are taken into account

When will new figures be published? Does not apply.

This dataset provides values for ENERGY INFLATION reported in several countries. The data includes current values, previous releases, historical highs and record lows, release frequency, reported unit and currency.