The average domestic energy price in the UK is at least 30% higher.

Due to the country’s greater reliance on natural gas for power generation, the average domestic electricity price in the UK is at least 30% higher than in many of its European neighbors.

According to a Dutch consultancy, the direct impact on households varies greatly depending on the country’s energy mix, as a result of reduced oil and gas flows from Russia.

The amount electricity prices are allowed to rise is also capped in countries such as France due to government support, pricing mechanisms, and taxation. Many European countries have announced individual measures, like tax cuts, in order to protect households and businesses from rising Russian gas prices.

A shift in the energy axis has occurred as a result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

As high gas prices continue to feed through to the power market, electricity prices are still expected to rise across Europe this winter. In addition, supplies from other sources are down due to a wide spread of nuclear power plant maintenance problems in France and dry weather conditions impacting hydropower production.

After Russia invaded Ukraine, western sanctions were imposed which led to a cut in supply which has made the UK more vulnerable to rising gas prices. Natural gas accounts for about 40 percent of the UK’s electricity generation, having reduced coal usage faster than many of its peers. Even though the reduction helped the country’s emissions, coal generates about twice as much carbon dioxide as gas when burned.

Household electricity prices in the UK are about 30 percent higher than in Italy, which is the next most expensive country. Various levies added to bills by the UK government are partly responsible for that. Due to having no direct pipeline connections to Russia, the UK is less vulnerable to Russian gas cuts, however, wholesale prices cannot be completely avoided. In the UK and Europe, some households have renewed their energy contracts, while others continue to pay their previous supplier’s prices. Consequently, new contracts are likely to be more expensive than these averages.

Typical household energy bills are set to increase about 80 percent in October under the so-called price cap, but the new prime minister, Liz Truss, wants to freeze them at about £2,500.

This winter, some European countries can expect higher household bills due to higher wholesale prices.

Netherlands households pay the highest gas bills, followed by German households. Russia was a major supplier to both countries. Groningen’s gasfield, once Europe’s largest, has also been largely shut down due to its depletion causing earthquakes in the city.

Despite most of this summer’s wholesale prices being lower than the European benchmark, the UK has the third most expensive household gas prices. Mostly because the UK produces more liquefied natural gas domestically and imports a greater amount of liquefied natural gas from abroad.

To help countries fill their storage facilities, UK companies have been shipping LNG via pipeline to mainland Europe.

The average household gas price in Hungary was by a long margin the lowest until August. Viktor Orbán has defended Hungary’s relationship with Moscow, denying criticism from other EU members about its low-cost gas deliveries from Russia.

As gas prices have soared, Hungary’s gas import costs have also risen, and the government has removed subsidies for household usage above the average consumption rate.