Household gas prices fell by 6.3% on average in the EU between the first halves of 2016 and 2017 to stand at EUR5.8 per 100 kWh. Among Member States, household gas prices in the first half of 2017 ranged from less than EUR3.5 per 100 kWh in both Romania and Bulgaria to slightly above EUR8 per 100 kWh in Denmark and EUR12 per 100 kWh in Sweden.
Between the first half of 2016 and the first half of 2017, household gas prices in national currency decreased in a large majority of Member States. The largest falls were recorded in Croatia (-17.5%), Portugal (-15.3%), Lithuania (-11.6%), Latvia (-10.8%) and Bulgaria (-10.3%).
In contrast, the highest increase was observed in Estonia (+21.1%), followed by Denmark (+12.7%) and Sweden (+10.8%). Expressed in euro, average household gas prices in the first half of 2017 were lowest in Romania (EUR3.2 per 100 kWh), Bulgaria (EUR3.3), Hungary (EUR3.5), Croatia (EUR3.6), Lithuania (EUR3.7) and Latvia (EUR3.8) and highest in Sweden (EUR12.1), followed by Denmark (EUR8.1), Portugal (EUR7.7) and the Netherlands (EUR7.6). The average gas price in the EU was EUR5.8 per 100 kWh.
In the European Union (EU), household electricity prices slightly decreased (-0.5%) on average between the first half of 2016 and the first half of 2017 to stand at EUR20.4 per 100 kWh. Across the EU Member States, household electricity prices in the first half of 2017 ranged from below EUR10 per 100 kWh in Bulgaria to more than EUR30 per 100 kWh in Denmark and Germany.
The share of taxes and levies in total household electricity prices varied significantly between Member States, ranging from two-thirds in Denmark (67% of household electricity price is made up of taxes and levies) and over half in Germany (54%) and Portugal (52%) to 5% in Malta in the first half of 2017. On average in the EU, taxes and levies accounted for more than a third (37%) of household electricity prices.
In the first half of 2017, taxes and levies made up the largest contribution to the price of gas for households in Denmark (55% of household gas price) and the Netherlands (53%). They were followed by Romania (47%) and Sweden (44%). At the opposite end of the scale, the smallest contributions were registered in the United Kingdom (7%) and Luxembourg (10%), ahead of Greece (16%), Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Lithuania and Slovakia (all 17%). At EU level, taxes and levies accounted on average for about a quarter (26%) of household gas prices in the first half of 2017.