Does the UK really have the most expensive electricity in Europe?

[SteamyTea]

As the question ends with a question mark, you know it does not

 

Here are the EU prices.

https://www.euronews.com/2026/06/01/germany-is-a-leader-in-renewables-so-why-does-it-have-one-of-the-highest-eu-electricity-pr

 

Below are the full EU rankings:

1. Ireland: €0.40
2. Germany: €0.39
3. Belgium: €0.35
4. Denmark: €0.33
5. Austria: €0.33
6. Czechia: €0.32
7. Italy: €0.30
8. Romania: €0.29
9. Cyprus: €0.28
10. Sweden: €0.27
11. Poland: €0.27
12. Spain: €0.27
13. Luxembourg: €0.27
14. France: €0.26
15. Netherlands: €0.26
16. Latvia: €0.25
17. Portugal: €0.24
18. Greece: €0.24
19. Estonia: €0.23
20. Finnland: €0.23
21. Slovenia: €0.21
22. Lithuania: €0.20
23. Slovakia: €0.19
24. Croatia: €0.17
25. Bulgaria: €0.14
26. Malta: €0.13
27. Hungary: €0.11

 

The UK is currently £0.24.67 with is €0.29/kWh.  The same as Romania.

https://energyguide.org.uk/average-cost-electricity-kwh-uk/

 

 

Edited 6 hours ago by SteamyTea

[JohnMo]

Pretty wide range of pricing there. 

[Ed_]

I think this is a devil is in the detail question.

 

EU data is H2 2025 whereas 24.67p is price cap now, so was a few p higher in the comparative period, say 32 euro cents. Still not most expensive.

 

I believe a lot of the shouting is about prices for industry which are not set in the same way as household prices. I have no idea where we stand on that measure and I'd imagine a serious international comparison is highly non trivial and well beyond journalists.

[jack]

What standing charges do EU countries have?

[jack]

Not clear from this how they work it out, but it appears the costs include everything:

 

 

Also, could this insane number possibly be right?:

 

 

I think the UK is on track to spend something like £1.5b on curtailment this year, which seems a lot. Could Germany really be spending nearly 300 times as much? 😶 

And that's down from €554b in 2024.

[HerbJ]

Real life electrical invoice for my apartment in Spain, West of Marbella.  See attached and salient points as folllows:

 

• We are with iBERDROLA, which owns Scottish Power
• Period 20/My to 20 May 2026
• Weather was OK so no heating/ac used in period
• Most of cost is for water heating - 8/9kWh/day
• TOU are basially obligatory in Spain for domestic customers - three charge rates, which  are shown as attached. Note low rate  for 24 hr Saturday and Sunday
• "Smart" Meters seem to obligatory for all consumers - you do not get a choice/ They work well and reliably. 
• It is a deregulated market, so you shop around for suppliers but it is not as easy or straightforward as UK, in my experience
• The bill identifies and details all charges.
• VAT was reduced at the start of the Iran conflict, from 21% to 10%
• The standing charges are based on your elected "Potentia", which is maximum kW Service that you require/choose, based on you expected peak load requirement. Our "Potentia" 9.7kW  and if exceed it the supply is cut-off and I think they charge you to reset it. Also, they will charge you to change it, up or down - about 35 euros from  memory

Happy reading

 

 

643986364_2026-05-27-17.00.20.010299_BH.pdf

[Mattg4321]

Yes it does and possibly the most expensive in the world when talking about industrial prices, which are what really matter most when it comes to the economy. 
 

https://www.ft.com/content/f3bcd4a4-0a5f-4fc1-ad8a-cf2530e6001a?syn-25a6b1a6=1