Only 6% of the price of electricity in Malta is made up of taxies and levies, the lowest percentage rate in the European Union, according to Eurostat, which also said that the total price was the fourth lowest in the EU when adjusted for local price differences.
The EU’s statistical arm said the share of taxes and levies in total household electricity prices varied significantly between member states and ranged from 65% in Denmark to only 6% in Malta. On average, taxes and levies accounted for 37% of household electricity prices in the second half of 2018.
Expressed in purchasing power standards (PPS), a common reference eliminating price level differences between countries, the lowest household electricity prices were found in Finland (13.7 PPS per 100 kWh) and Luxembourg (13.8), followed by the Netherlands (15.2), Malta (15.7), France (16.4), Sweden (16.5) and Lithuania (17.3).
The highest prices expressed in PPS were registered in Portugal (28.2), Germany (28) and Spain (27.4).
On average, household electricity prices in the EU increased to €21.1 per 100 kWh (+3.5%), between the second half of 2017 and the second half of 2018.
Nevertheless, the average EU household electricity price was only 10c per 100 kWh higher than in the second half of 2015, the former peak in the last 10 years.
Across the EU states, household electricity prices in the second half of 2018 ranged from €10 per 100 kWh in Bulgaria to around €30 per 100 kWh in Denmark, Germany and Belgium.
Household gas prices increased by 5.7% on average in the EU between the second semester of 2017 and 2018 to €6.7 per 100 kWh. This is still 50c per 100 kWh lower than in the second half of 2014, the peak of gas prices in the last 10 years.
Among member states, household gas prices in the second half of 2018 ranged from below €4 per 100 kWh in Hungary, Romania and Croatia to around €9 per 100 kWh in the Netherlands, Spain, Denmark and Italy and more than €12 per 100 kWh in Sweden.
Taxes and levies in the EU made up on average 27% of the gas price. The average electricity price in the EU was €21.1 per 100 kWh.
Gas prices
Adjusted for purchasing power, relative to the cost of other goods and services, the lowest household gas price was recorded in Luxembourg (3.5 PPS per 100 kWh), ahead of the United Kingdom (4.7) Croatia and Estonia (both 5.6). In contrast, the highest prices were observed in Sweden (10.1), Spain (9.7), Italy and Portugal (both 9.6).