economy

As pointed out in the survey, the price increase in Athens is mainly due to the reduction in subsidies provided by the government. More specifically, for around 90% of households, subsidies were reduced from 330 euros/MWh, which was the highest subsidy level in previous months, to 40 euros/MWh, following the recent drop in wholesale electricity prices.

It is also worth noting that Athens, along with Paris, Madrid and London, is among the few European capitals where the retail price for households registered an increase in February. In almost all the rest there was a decrease mainly due to the decrease in wholesale electricity prices.

It is characteristic that according to a relevant table of the study the price of electricity in Athens was 30.19 cents/KWh, above the average price of the 27 member countries of the European Union which was 28.26 cents/KWh and above the average of all European capitals which was at 26.60 cents/KWh.

Electricity was more expensive in Stockholm, Amsterdam, Brussels, Vienna, Nicosia, Copenhagen, Prague, Rome, London, Berlin and Dublin than in Athens. It should be noted here that the study examines the electricity prices in the capitals of the countries as in most European countries supply companies operate by region in contrast to our country where the price of Athens reflects the price of electricity for the whole country.

According to the survey, Dublin and Berlin are the most expensive cities for residential consumers in Europe, followed by London, Rome and Prague.

Overall, electricity prices for households mostly fell in February for the fourth consecutive month, in contrast to the continuous upward movement in prices from February to October 2022.

The most significant changes that occurred in the electricity market in February were the following:

Price increase by 9% in Paris, by 8% in Madrid, by 6% in Athens and by 3% in London.

Price reduction by 28% in Stockholm, by 25% in Rome and Tallinn, by 24% in Helsinki, by 23% in Copenhagen, by 12% in Oslo, by 11% in Brussels and Lisbon, by 9% in Berlin by 5% in Riga, by 2% in Vienna and Vilnius and by 1% in Nicosia.

However, in roughly half of Europe's capitals, prices remained stable. This is mainly due to the drop in the wholesale price, due to the mild winter which led to lower demand but also to the increased production of energy from renewable sources. Also an important role in the de-escalation of prices was played by the extensive energy support measures implemented by governments to mitigate the effects of the energy crisis on household bills.