Athens records Europe’s biggest tariff drop in May, HEPI study shows

Europe’s biggest reduction in residential electricity tariffs last month was recorded in Athens, a monthly study conducted by the Household Energy Price Index, covering European 33 cities, has shown.

Residential electricity tariffs in Athens fell by 11 percent in May compared to April, aided by the government’s ongoing subsidy support policy, while prices in most other cities surveyed remained virtually unchanged, the HEPI study showed.

Its authors noted that electricity price trends around Europe in May mark the end of a continual reduction in electricity prices since last October.

May’s residential electricity tariffs averaged 26.40 cents per KWh in Athens, placing the Greek capital 14th among the 33 cities surveyed.

The EU average for May was 26.52 cents per KWh, while the average tariff level for the 33 cities surveyed was 25.10 cents per KWh.

Dublin’s residential electricity tariff level for May was the highest among the 33 cities surveyed, reaching 47.12 cents per KWh, followed by London, at 46.23 cents per KWh, and Rome, at 42.81 cents per KWh.

Besides Athens’ 11 percent reduction in electricity tariffs last month, prices fell by 3 percent in Copenhagen and Stockholm, followed by Amsterdam, Berlin and Prague, where tariffs eased by 2 percent.

The biggest tariff increase last month was recorded in Riga, rising 16 percent. It was followed by Belgrade, where tariffs rose by 7 percent, and Helsinki, registering a 4 percent rise last month, as a result of the country’s reintroduction of a 24 percent VAT rate on electricity.