Natural gas prices in Athens plunged 55 percent in October, compared to the previous month, while electricity price levels rose by just 2 percent during this period, making the Greek capital one of Europe’s cheapest for household energy, a monthly study conducted by the Household Energy Price Index, covering European cities, has shown.
Local energy subsidies have played a key role in subduing energy prices, coming as crucial support for households in Greece, where disposable income levels are well below European standards.
Athens ranks 17th – in terms of household gas cost – among 28 cities surveyed for the HEPI study. October’s 55 percent drop in household gas prices for Athenian consumers was Europe’s biggest drop for the month, the study showed.
On the contrary, significant natural gas price increases were recorded in a number of cities, including Rome (97%), Luxembourg (64%), Lisbon (58%) and Dublin (34%).
The cost of a kilowatt hour for households in Athens was 0.1235 euros, almost 0.06 euro per KWh less than the EU average of 0.18 euros.
Households in Budapest were charged less than Athenians for natural gas in October, the price level in the Hungarian capital averaging 0.0252 euros per KWh. So, too, were households in Belgrade, where the gas cost last month was 0.0353 euros.
On the contrary, the cost of natural gas was highest for households in Amsterdam, reaching 0.4208 euros per KWh, Copenhagen (0.4055 euros per KWh) and Vienna (0.3390 euros per KWh).
The HEPI study, which surveyed 33 European cities for household electricity cost in October, placed Athens in 15th place with a cost of 0.3022 euros per KWh, 0.05 euros per KWh below the EU average.
Greece ranked among Europe’s most affordable cities in terms of energy cost as a result of considerable electricity and gas subsidies offered in the country.
A total of 2.3 billion euros has been raised though an extraordinary tax on electricity producer earnings between July and the present to help fund government subsidies for household electricity.