Monthly electricity prices in selected EU countries 2020-2024

Wholesale electricity prices in the European Union (EU) decreased in 2023 and 2024, after soaring in the previous two years. The spike in European electricity prices was one aspect of a global energy crisis, and the result of a myriad of factors, including increased demand in the “post-pandemic” economic recovery, a rise in natural gas and coal prices, and a decline in renewable power generation due to low wind speeds and drought. In 2024, prices were still above pre-pandemic levels.Surging gas and coal prices driving electricity costsAs natural gas and coal are among the leading sources of electricity generation in the EU, accounting for more than one-third of the output in 2022, electricity rates are highly dependent on the price of these commodities. Natural gas prices in Europe increased continuously throughout 2021 and the first half of 2022, as reserves reached worrying low levels in the region. Uncertainties over the Russian gas supply following the country's invasion of Ukraine were one of the main factors driving up gas prices in 2022. Different trends for different countriesWhile the energy supply shortage hit Europe as a whole, the impact on each country’s electricity price varied. Throughout the whole period, Italy recorded the highest figure in the region and surpassed 540 euros per megawatt-hour in August 2022. The country is the EU’s leading electricity net importer. 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.

2023 年及 2024 年，欧洲联盟（EU）的批发电力价格在经历前两年激增后呈现下降趋势。欧洲电力价格的上涨是全球能源危机的一个方面，这一现象由众多因素共同导致，包括“后疫情”经济复苏期间需求的增加、天然气和煤炭价格的上涨，以及由于风速降低和干旱导致的可再生能源发电量下降。至 2024 年，电力价格仍高于疫情前的水平。天然气和煤炭价格的飙升推动电力成本上升，作为欧盟电力生成的主要来源之一，天然气和煤炭在 2022 年的发电量中占比超过三分之一，因此电力价格高度依赖于这些商品的价格。2021 年全年以及 2022 年上半年，欧洲的天然气价格持续上涨，因为该地区的储备量降至令人担忧的低水平。对俄罗斯天然气供应的不确定性，是 2022 年推动天然气价格上涨的主要因素之一。不同国家呈现出不同的趋势，尽管能源供应短缺影响了整个欧洲，但每个国家电力价格的影响程度各异。在整个期间，意大利记录了该地区最高的电力价格，并在 2022 年 8 月超过了每兆瓦时 540 欧元的水平。意大利是欧盟最大的电力净进口国。与此同时，瑞典——水力发电和核能在该国电力生成中占有较大份额——在同期电力价格上涨的幅度相对较小。