Even as the Iran war started driving up wholesale gas prices, household electricity and gas prices fell on average across the EU in the first half of 2026.
The differences between countries were striking. A unit of electricity cost more than three times as much in Ireland as in Hungary, according to Eurostat.
Where in Europe did households pay the most and least for electricity and gas? And how do the rankings change when local price levels are taken into account?
Among 38 European countries with data, household electricity prices including taxes ranged from €6.6 per 100 kWh in Turkey to €38.7 in Ireland in the first half of 2026. Hungary had the lowest price in the EU at €11.4, while the EU average was €28.3.
In euro terms, Ireland was followed by Germany (€36.2), Belgium (€35.8), Austria (€32.6), Italy (€31.4) and Sweden (€30.6), all above €30 per 100 kWh.
Electricity prices were lower than the EU average in Spain (€25.1) and France (€24.9).
Romania has the highest electricity prices in purchasing power terms
Prices were generally lower in EU candidate countries, and the gap with the most expensive countries was large. That gap narrowed once differences in local price levels were taken into account using purchasing power standards (PPS).
Electricity prices ranged from 12.6 PPS per 100 kWh in Iceland to 46.9 in Romania. Poland (41.1) and Czechia (34.3) rounded out the top three, followed by Ireland and Italy at 32.8 each.
After Iceland, Turkey (13.5), Malta (13.8), Hungary (14.7) and Norway (15.0) had the lowest prices in purchasing power terms.
Among the EU’s four largest economies, Italy had the highest price (32.8), closely followed by Germany (32.4). Spain (28.0) was close to the EU average (28.4), while France (23.3) was cheaper.
Electricity prices rose sharply in Romania
Household electricity prices fell by 2.2% on average in the EU compared with the second half of 2025. Measured in euros, Finland recorded the largest rise at 19.5%, followed by Turkey (11.2%), Poland (10.6%), Lithuania (10.6%) and Sweden (10.4%).
Denmark (-28.2%) and Luxembourg (-24.1%) recorded the biggest falls. Prices in Italy rose by 5.9%, while they fell by 6.5% in Germany, 6% in Spain and 3% in France.
Compared with the first half of 2025, the EU average electricity price fell by 1.6%. Romania recorded the biggest increase in euro terms at 51.9%, followed by Turkey (35%), Ireland (19.8%) and Finland (18.4%).
Prices fell in all four of the EU’s largest economies: France (-7%), Germany (-5.7%), Italy (-4.5%) and Spain (-3.9%).
Government policies help explain why price changes vary, according to Professor Xiaoyi Mu, director of the Centre for Energy, Petroleum and Mineral Law and Policy at the University of Dundee. Taxes, levies and network charges make up a large part of final prices. Denmark, for example, temporarily cut its electricity tax by roughly €0.10 per kWh from 1 January 2026. Finland had no such tax relief.
Energy market intelligence firm VaasaETT, which helps compile the Household Energy Price Index (HEPI), has also pointed to differences in the energy mix, tariff structures, how suppliers buy and price energy, and how costs are shared between groups of customers.
Sweden has the most expensive gas
Across the 29 European countries with data, household natural gas prices, including taxes, ranged from €1.6 per 100 kWh in Georgia to €22 in Sweden in the first half of 2026. Hungary (€3.3) had the lowest price in the EU, where the average was €11.
The Netherlands (€16.2), France (€13.5), Portugal (€12.6) and Austria (€12.4) rounded out the top five.
Gas prices were above the EU average in France, Germany (€11.6) and Italy (€11.4), and below it in Spain (€7.9).
In PPS terms, prices ranged from 4.3 per 100 kWh in Hungary to 20.8 in North Macedonia. North Macedonia was below the EU average in euro terms (€10.8) and moved to the top of the ranking once local price levels were taken into account.
Sweden (17.7), Portugal (15.0) and the Netherlands (13.8) also ranked among the most expensive. At the lower end, Turkey (5.0), Luxembourg (6.6) and Croatia (6.8) had the lowest prices after Hungary.
Household gas prices fell by 10.2% on average in the EU compared with the second half of 2025. In euro terms, Italy (-23.2%), Spain (-17.6%) and Greece (-16%) recorded the largest falls. Turkey had the biggest rise at 12.9%, followed by Romania (6.3%).
Compared with the first half of 2025, the EU average fell by 3.5%. France was the only one of the EU’s four largest economies where gas prices rose year on year, up 3.7%.
Why do wholesale price rises take time to reach households?
The figures cover only about four months after the US and Israel began striking Iran in late February. The full impact on household bills may take longer to show up.
“There is always a lag between the benchmark wholesale natural gas price (TTF) and the prices paid by households,” Xiaoyi Mu told Euronews Business.
“The lag can range from a few months to more than a year, depending on how the retail energy market is organised in each country.”
Many households are on fixed-price contracts, Mu said. Suppliers cannot pass on higher wholesale costs while those rates are fixed.
Suppliers also often buy gas and electricity in advance to protect themselves against price swings. That can delay the impact of wholesale price changes on household tariffs.
Higher bills could come in 2027
Mu said Europe’s benchmark wholesale gas price fell by 19% in the second half of 2025 compared with the first half of that year, and by 14% compared with the second half of 2024.
“I believe this is one of the key reasons behind the fall in household energy prices in the first half of 2026 despite the subsequent increase in wholesale gas prices following the conflict in the Middle East,” he said.
“For this reason, unfortunately, I do expect households could face higher energy bills in the second half of 2026, but more so in the first half of 2027,” he added.
Across EU capitals tracked by HEPI, household gas prices rose by 12% on average between 2 February and 1 September, while electricity prices rose by 4.2%.
HEPI’s October update recorded electricity price rises in 21 of the 33 European capitals it tracks, and gas price rises in 14 of the 27 capitals with gas data.