Changes in Electricity Prices Globally

Cost of living has been a hot topic across the globe recently, with many households feeling like they’re fighting a losing battle. While only a portion of our overall living costs, energy is a vital part of our lives, like everything else, has a cost.

According to recent Nielson Consumer and Media View data, 82% of Australians described being “concerned” about the price of their power, with an additional 45% being “very concerned”.¹

As experts in helping Australians compare energy plans to look for better deals, we wanted to see how household electricity prices have fluctuated throughout the years.

To do this, we compared average household electricity prices across 29 different countries to see which nations’ households are facing higher electricity bills, and why some countries seem to be dealing with the cost of energy better than others.

Here’s what we found.

Countries with the Most Expensive Household Electricity

Across the board, residential electricity prices tended to decrease since December 2023, with a few key exceptions.

1. Germany – US$0.402/kWh

Germany has landed as the most expensive country in our study, where the average household electricity cost for July 2024 was US$0.402/kWh. This represents a marginal increase of 0.2% over Germany’s December 2023 electricity cost, which was an average of US$0.401/kWh.

While this mid-year increase was relatively small, Germany’s average household electricity price has been consistently rising since 2000, where it sat at US$0.121/kWh.

While sitting at US$0.401/kWh in December 2023, Germany ranked as fifth most expensive for household electricity, indicating the trend of decreasing electricity costs across many similarly expensive countries since this time period which seems to have missed Germany.

2. Switzerland – US$0.390/kWh

Next up is Switzerland, with an average household electricity cost in June 2024 of US$0.390/kWh. This represents an increase of 14.0% over Switzerland’s December 2023 electricity cost of US$0.342kWh.

Similarly to Germany, Switzerland’s average household electricity cost has been steadily rising since 2000, where its average cost was US$0.111kWh.

Switzerland’s consistently rising price has pushed the country into the top rankings for most expensive residential electricity, with a previous placement of seventh most expensive in December 2023 at US$0.342/kWh.

3. Belgium & Ireland – US$0.381/kWh

Rounding out the top three for most expensive household electricity prices is actually a tie, with both Belgium and Ireland being priced holding an average price point of US$0.381/kWh.

Belgium’s average household electricity price has dropped by 8.4% since December 2023, from US$0.416/kWh.

Unlike the other countries on the index, Belgium has seen fluctuating prices since 1980, peaking in December 2023, where Belgium placed as the third most expensive country for average cost of household electricity.

Since December 2023, Ireland’s average residential electricity prices have fallen by 20.1%, from a price of US$0.477/kWh. This represents the largest decrease in average price within the top three rankings, and one of the largest within our study.

Similar to the other countries within the rankings, Ireland’s average household electricity cost has been steadily rising, though between 2020 and 2023 the country saw a jump in price of 73.0%, leading to Ireland placing as the most expensive country for household electricity in 2023.

Countries with the Cheapest Household Electricity

For those at the cheapest end of our index, rankings and average prices tended not to shift too much since December 2023.

1. Türkiye – US$0.044/kWh

Once again, Türkiye tops off the list for cheapest average household electricity prices, with a June 2024 rate of US$0.044/kWh, which marks a 12.0% decrease in cost since December 2023, where prices sat at an already low US$0.050/kWh.

Türkiye has seen a constant decrease in average residential electricity prices since 2010, where the country peaked at US$0.184/kWh.

2. Mexico – US$0.099/kWh

Placing as second cheapest, Mexico’s average household electricity cost in June 2024 was US$0.099/kWh, a decrease of 9.1% since December 2023, which was recorded at US$0.109/kWh.

Mexico has historically seen relatively low household electricity costs, peaking in December 2023 at US$0.109/kWh – the only recorded data point that breaks the US$0.100/kWh mark.

The nation tied with Hungary as second cheapest for household electricity in December 2023, however due to a more meaningful decrease in average cost across the first half of 2024, Mexico has managed to place alone as second cheapest.

3. Hungary – US$0.107/kWh

Finally, Hungary landed as third cheapest in our study for average household electricity prices, with a rate of US$0.107/kWh. This represents a marginal decrease of 1.8% from Hungary’s December 2023 price of US$0.109/kWh.

Hungary’s history of electricity prices has been turbulent, with the nation’s average rate coming in as US$0.209/kWh in 2010, placing the nation within the top 10 most expensive for the year. Since then, Hungary’s average residential electricity prices have steadily declined to where they are today.

Changes in Electricity Prices Index – 2024

Note: All figures are in US$/kWh. Unavailable data points marked with *.

How did Australia and the US compare to the rest of the world?

Australia – US$0.246/kWh

Australia placed almost exactly in the middle of the pack during June 2024, coming in as the 13th most expensive (or 17th cheapest!) country within the study, with a June 2024 average household electricity rate of US$0.246/kWh. This represents a decrease of 7.5% over the nations’ December 2023 household price of US$0.266/kWh.

Australia’s average household electricity costs have remained relatively consistent, hovering above the US$0.200/kWh mark since 2010 and peaking at US$0.266/kWh in December 2023.

United States – US$0.179/kWh

The United States has retained its December 2023 placement as seventh cheapest, coming in with a June 2024 average household electricity rate of US$0.179. This marks a 2.6% increase over the nations’ December 2023 rate of US$0.162/kWh.

The United States has historically held relatively low average household electricity costs, though the nation has seen low, but consistent, year-on-year increases since 1980.