European industry pays several times as much for electricity as its US and Chinese competitors
European households and businesses face higher electricity prices than before the pandemic, but the biggest difference is in industry. A BloombergNEF analysis shows that while US businesses paid an average of 110 dollars per megawatt-hour in 2025 and Chinese businesses 89 dollars, German companies paid 226 dollars and British companies as much as 327 dollars. Differences are not solely the result of commodity prices. Taxes, public policy support, network costs and the way countries regulate the market are also reflected in final bills. For European industry, electricity is therefore not only a significant operating cost, but also a competitive disadvantage.
Prices rose in most of the markets surveyed, but not everywhere
BloombergNEF compared final prices for households and industry across 37 markets from 2019 to 2025. In roughly three-quarters of them, electricity prices rose faster than inflation. The average inflation-adjusted increase was 24% for businesses and 12% for households. However, trends varied considerably from country to country. The UK, Japan and Argentina experienced significant price volatility from 2019 onwards, partly as a result of the energy crisis of 2021–2023 following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Markets dependent on natural gas imports were particularly affected. Prices were more stable elsewhere. In Canada, Brazil and New Zealand, inflation-adjusted final prices in 2025 were relatively close to their 2019 levels. China, India, Mexico and Russia were among the exceptions where real household prices fell. The analysis also ranks them among the markets with the lowest final prices. Their advantage lies in domestic energy resources and more extensive state intervention, including subsidies.US households pay less than their European counterparts
High bills are undermining European industry
Translation disclaimer
This article is a machine translation of the Czech original and has not yet been fully reviewed. In case of any doubt, please refer to the Czech version.
