Eurostat: Romania had the EU's biggest rise in household electricity prices, up 51.6% in a year
Household electricity prices in Romania rose by 51.6% in the first half of 2026 compared with a year earlier, the biggest increase in the European Union, Eurostat data published on Friday show. Measured against purchasing power, Romanians now pay the most for electricity in the EU. Romania also recorded the largest rise in household gas prices, while EU averages for both fell.
Across the EU, the average price households paid for electricity fell by 2.2% to €0.28 per kilowatt-hour in the first half of the year, still well above levels before the 2022 energy crisis. Ireland had the highest prices in euros (€0.39 per kWh), followed by Germany and Belgium (€0.36), while Hungary (€0.11), Malta and Bulgaria (€0.13) had the lowest. In national currency, the steepest increases after Romania's were in Ireland (+19.8%) and Finland (+18.4%); Denmark (-31.7%) and Luxembourg (-24.1%) saw the largest falls. Adjusted for purchasing power, Romanian households pay 46.9 PPS per 100 kWh, ahead of Poland (41.1) and Czechia (34.3).
For natural gas, the EU average household price fell by 3.5% to €0.11 per kWh, but in national currency prices rose most in Romania (+9.3%), Croatia (+8.9%) and Slovakia (+6.6%). The comparison covers January to June 2026 against January to June 2025, so it captures the effect of the end of Romania's household electricity price cap in July 2025. The figures, which include taxes and VAT, come as the new government in Bucharest debates indexing pensions and wages and Romania remains under pressure to cut its budget deficit.