Differences in the Structure of Household Electricity Prices in EU Countries

Aleksandra Matuszewska-Janica, Dorota Żebrowska-Suchodolska (), Mariola Zalewska, Urszula Ala-Karvia and Marta Hozer-Koćmiel
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Aleksandra Matuszewska-Janica: Institute of Economics and Finance, Warsaw University of Life Sciences—SGGW, Nowoursynowska 166, 02-787 Warsaw, Poland
Dorota Żebrowska-Suchodolska: Institute of Economics and Finance, Warsaw University of Life Sciences—SGGW, Nowoursynowska 166, 02-787 Warsaw, Poland
Urszula Ala-Karvia: Ruralia Institute, University of Helsinki, Kampusranta 9 C, 60320 Seinäjoki, Finland
Marta Hozer-Koćmiel: Institute of Economics and Finance, University of Szczecin, Mickiewicza 64, 71-101 Szczecin, Poland

Energies, 2023, vol. 16, issue 18, 1-23

Abstract: Private households are an important group of energy consumers. Based on Eurostat data, their energy consumption constituted 30% of the final consumption of energy use across the European Union in 2021. The cost of energy is one of the main components of household budgets; thus, the prices provided by energy carriers have a significant impact on energy consumption. The price offered to the final consumer consists of three components: the price of energy and its supply, network costs, and taxes and levies. The values of the three components, however, depend on several factors, among which the structure of the energy markets and energy policies in individual EU countries play a key role. This work aimed to analyze and assess the structure of electricity prices offered to households across EU countries in the years 2019–2021. The differences and similarities between the pricing policies of selected products in the EU and their impacts on households’ purchasing capacity were captured and a non-pattern classification method (k-means) was applied as a research tool. The results indicated that the heterogeneity of the electricity price structure increased significantly over the period analyzed. This may be a consequence of the use of strongly differentiated tools to mitigate electricity price increases and the steps being taken towards low-carbon economies.

Keywords: electricity prices; structure of electricity prices; households; EU countries; classification; k-means; Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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