Cyprus marked a 15% decrease in the price of electricity from the second half of 2012 to the second half of 2013, the highest recorded drop in the European Union.

However the island still continues to offer the third most expensive household electricity in the EU, a Eurostat report said yesterday.

According to the report, the EU average household electricity price rose by 2.8% during this time, with the sharpest price hikes recorded in Estonia with 22%, Greece with 20% and Romania with 17%. In contrast, the biggest decreases were recorded in Cyprus with 15%, Hungary with 14% and Spain with 9%.

But in spite of the percentage changes, in terms of actual prices Romania boasts the second cheapest household electricity at €12.8 per 100 kWh, behind Bulgaria with €8.8 and ahead of Hungary at €13.3. Conversely, Cyprus stayed near the top of the list of most expensive countries at €24.8, behind Denmark with €29.4 and Germany with €29.2. The average electricity price in the EU was €20.1.

Another indicator recorded in the report, the purchasing power standard (PPS), an “artificial common reference currency that eliminates general price level differences between countries,” ranks Cyprus as the most expensive household electricity supplier with 28.2, ahead of Germany at 28.1 and Portugal at 26.2. In terms of PPS, the cheapest household electricity is available in Finland, which scored 12.8, Luxembourg at 13.7 and Latvia at 14.0.

Source: Cyprus Mail