List comparing energy costs in Europe features out-of-date figures

A list comparing “average energy costs” across Europe, which shows a significantly higher figure for the UK than for mainland European countries, has re-emerged on social media.

As we explained when we wrote about a list featuring the same figures last year, these prices don’t show average energy costs for consumers in European countries, but are instead wholesale electricity costs for suppliers which reflected prices only for a specific hour on one day over a year ago.

The figures broadly match those on a map shared on social media in December 2022, which was itself taken from the website of the European Power Exchange, or Epex Spot.

Epex Spot is used by a number of companies across Europe to buy and sell electricity at short notice to meet demand.

A spokesperson for Epex Spot told Full Fact last year that the data corresponded to day-ahead prices per megawatt hour (MWh) of electricity, for delivery on 12 December 2022, specifically for “hour 19” (between 6pm and 7pm).

These prices do not show “average energy costs” for consumers, or indeed any “average”. Instead, they show the cost of electricity to companies in those countries for delivery during this specific hour on 12 December 2022.

The hourly prices listed on Epex Spot vary throughout the day, and the £2,586 used for Great Britain was the peak cost on that particular day. On average, electricity on that day cost £675 per MWh—much closer to prices across Europe.

The UK figure of €2,960 listed on the posts broadly matches the £2,586 figure on the map converted into Euros based on exchange rates in February 2023 (around the same time the list went viral last year). The list also includes figures for Spain and Austria not included in the Epex Spot data, the origins of which are unclear.

Consumer energy prices compared

To look at how energy prices actually compare for consumers across Europe, we can use the Household Energy Price Index—a study measuring consumer energy prices in the capital cities of 33 European countries.

The latest monthly figures for December 2023 show that electricity prices were highest in Ireland, at €0.43 per kilowatt hour (kWh), followed by in the UK, at €0.40 per kWh, and Germany at €0.38 per kWh. The EU average was €0.25 per kWh.

We’ve fact checked misleading comparisons of energy prices in Europe and the UK a number of times. Claims like these can spread fast and far on social media, and are difficult to contain and correct.

Image courtesy of NASA