Reasons for expensive electricity
Since 1995, household nominal electricity prices trippled or quadrupled in all four Visegrad countries. The stock market electricity price and distribution fee, not including financial incentives for renewables, are the key reason for this, as shown in four studies conducted in Poland, Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic.
Expert analysis of electricity prices in four Visegrad countries show that:
- between 1995 and 2014 household electricity prices (nominal prices) grew by 237 % in Poland, by 280 % in the Czech Republic, by 378 % in Slovakia and by 414 % in Hungary.
- support of renewable electricity production increased retail electricity prices, but much less than other price components like distribution fee, stock market electricity price or VAT rate.
- in the Czech Republic, where costs of feed-in tariffs for renewables are transposed onto the consumer, the overall costs of the renewables support scheme represent only 13 % of the electricity retail price. In Slovakia, an incentive for renewables is included into the „system operation tariff“- standard electricity price component – and represents only 7.5 % of electricity retail price. In Poland renewables are supported through „property rights RES“ which represent only 3 % of electricity retail price. In Hungary renewables are supported by a pricing component, which was removed from the residential electricity price structure in 2013 but in fact would represent less than 3 % of retail electricity price in 2014.
Full studies about price development are available on following websites: Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland (link to download the study is at the end of the page) and Slovakia. All studies are in respective national languages, but with English summary.
Summary report on V4 situation is available here (in English).
For further details on national analysis contact following authors or members of the author team:
Czech Republic: Mr. Martin Mikeska, +420 603 780 670, martin.mikeska@hnutiduha.cz
Hungary: Mr. László Magyar, magyar@energiaklub.hu
Poland: Mr. Ewaryst Hille, +48 603 446 351, e.hille@upcpoczta.pl
Slovakia: Mr. Pavol Široký, +421 905 921 918, siroky@zmz.sk
Supported by the International Visegrad Fund
