Monthly electricity prices in the European Union 2020-2022, by country

In 2021, wholesale electricity prices in the European Union (EU) soared, with most countries experiencing record levels in December. The combination of a myriad of factors – including increased demand in the “post-pandemic” economic recovery, 天然气和煤炭价格上涨, and a drop in renewable power generation due to low wind speeds – the spike in European electricity prices was just one aspect of a 全球能源供应短缺 which has seen energy prices grow around the globe.

 Surging gas and coal prices driving electricity costs

因为天然气和煤炭是领先的 欧盟的发电资源, accounting for roughly one third of the output in 2020, electricity rates are highly dependent on the price of these commodities. 欧洲天然气价格 2021年全年持续增长, as reserves reached worrying low levels in the region and Russia, 欧洲天然气的主要来源, kept exports low in order to replenish its own depleted stocks.

不同的国家有不同的增长

  While the energy supply shortage hit Europe as a whole, the impact on each country’s electricity price varied. In December 2021, Switzerland recorded the highest figure in the region, at 282.每兆瓦时14欧元. Italy, the European Union’s leading electricity net importer, experienced similarly high electricity prices of 277.那个月每兆瓦时54欧元. Meanwhile, Sweden– where hydropower and nuclear energy account for a large share of the country's electricity generation– saw a less pronounced growth in prices in the period.