Εισαγωγικό κείμενο
- 30 Apr 2023
- economy
A significant decrease of 23% was noted in the price of natural gas for household consumers in Athens in February according to the monthly survey HEPI (HouseholdEnergyPriceIndexforEurope) prepared by the regulatory authorities of Austria and Hungary and the company VaasaETT.
Research looking at gas price developments in European capitals finds that households in Athens enjoyed significantly lower gas bills this month due to a drop in the wholesale price of natural gas and despite the end of the discount provided by DEPA to consumers.
Thus, the retail price of natural gas for domestic consumers including taxes and fees in Athens in February was 10.88 cents/KWh, i.e. much lower than the average price in the 27 EU countries which was 13.11 cents/KWh and from the average price in all the capitals of Europe which was 12.55 cents/KWh.
The highest price was paid by the residents of Stockholm, where it is double the average European price and stands at 30.07 cents/KWh. This is attributed to the small size of the Swedish market, i.e. only 92,000 residential gas customers in the whole of Sweden, of which 58,000 are on the isolated Stockholm gas network.
The most significant changes in the natural gas market in February were a 2% price increase in Dublin, while all other capitals saw either a decrease or stable prices. Specifically, a decrease of 33% was noted in Brussels, by 31% in Copenhagen, by 23% in Athens and Sofia, by 22% in Rome, by 13% in Tallinn, by 12% in Vienna, by 7% in Berlin, by 4 % in Paris, and by 2% in Madrid and Riga.
It is noted that the prices of natural gas for domestic consumers continued the significantly downward trend that began in September. In fact, Brussels and Copenhagen returned to 2021 fee levels, while Athens, Rome and Sofia also saw significant reductions in their gas bills.
In addition, for the majority of capital cities, retail gas prices remained stable.
The general decline in prices is mainly due to the continued decline in wholesale prices, which is attributed to the significant reduction in demand brought about by the favorable weather conditions.
The drop in demand can also be seen as the successful result of energy savings due to EU measures. Other reasons for the drop are the increase in supply, mainly in the form of LNG, but also the extensive measures of governments to support consumers. It should be noted, however, that despite the recent decline, natural gas prices are still higher than they were before the crisis began. This reflects the general trend, due to supply shortages, and continued growth in international LNG demand, but also the ongoing fear of supply cuts.
