"Energy Transition" Germany's Electricity Prices Highest in EU "About 4 Times Hungary's"

Electricity prices in Germany have been reported as the highest in the European Union (EU).

According to German media RND on the 22nd (local time), data from the German Federal Statistical Office showed that in the second half of last year, the average household electricity price in Germany was 41.6 cents per kWh (kilowatt-hour), the highest among the 27 EU countries, and 46.0% higher than the EU average of 28.5 cents.

Ireland (37.5 cents) and Italy (36.2 cents) followed in the ranking. On the other hand, Hungary (11.1 cents) and Norway (12.1 cents) had some of the lowest electricity prices in the EU, about one-quarter of Germany’s rates. Hungary’s main power sources are nuclear and natural gas, while Norway primarily relies on hydropower.

Germany completely shut down its nuclear power plants in April last year and, amid the energy crisis, temporarily restarted coal-fired power plants last month but has since closed them again, focusing on energy transition.

The German government plans to increase the share of renewable energy to 80% by 2030. According to the Federal Network Agency, the proportion of renewable energy such as wind and solar power in electricity consumption rose from 39.7% in 2019 to 52.0% last year.

However, as consumers bear part of the energy transition costs, the grid fees borne by households using 2,500 to 5,000 kWh annually accounted for 19.9% of the total last year.