A shock was caused by the report of the International Energy Agency (IEA), as the Hungarian capital, Budapest, holds the lowest electricity price in the EU for October. In contrast, the German capital, Berlin, ranks with the most expensive price in Europe.
German households paid, on average, more than four times higher electricity prices than Hungarian households in the second half of 2024, as reported by the newspaper Magyar Nemzet, based on the IEA report.
In one section of its report, the organization mentioned the importance of investments in renewable energy sources and efforts to suppress the price of electricity, adding that prices can differ significantly between countries.
Prices are high everywhere
Világgazdaság recently wrote about the latest Eurostat data from October, which show that Germany had the highest electricity price for households, at 41.08 euro cents per kilowatt-hour, while Hungary had 9.34 cents per kilowatt-hour.
The average price in the EU and in slightly lower European countries was approximately 2.8 times higher than the Budapest tariff, according to a report by the Finnish analysis firm VaasaETT. Besides Germany, electricity was more expensive than 30 cents in 8 other capitals.
What Hungary is doing
Hungary has maintained this low price thanks to its government's policy of keeping the price of utility services under control. Price regulation in Hungary has been twofold since August 2022: the "classic" reduced price (36 forints per kilowatt-hour) applies to consumption up to 2,523 kilowatt-hours per year, after which a higher, but still reduced and non-market-based, official price is applied. This price of 70.10 forints corresponded to 10.76 euro cents in October, which is the second lowest among the capitals examined.
It is also noteworthy how tariffs, whether low or high in absolute terms, burden households. Based on the October data, the Hungarian Energy and Public Utility Regulatory Authority calculated that the average consumption of electricity and natural gas by a household with two workers and an average income in the examined capitals was as follows: The resident of Budapest spent 1.7% of their income on utility expenses, while the resident of Brussels spent 2.2%. Lisbonhad the worst performance at 6.1%, while Berlin was in 7th place with 2.5%.
Eurostat calculations from October showed that for the first half of 2025, the Czech Republic had the highest electricity price (39.16 cents) based on classical purchasing power parity (PPS), followed by Poland (34.96 cents) and Italy (34.40 cents). Hungary again demonstrated its exceptional performance in this comparison with 15.01 cents, taking the second position after Malta (13.68 cents).
Opposition parties in Hungary have repeatedly called for the abolition of the price caps, arguing that the cost is excessive.
The role of natural gas
The EU, for its part, does not show much understanding for Hungary's dependence on Russian natural gas. The EU has called on the government to abandon this energy source, but if Hungary stops importing Russian gas, heating prices for Hungarians will skyrocket, as the price caps will no longer be sustainable.
Despite the fact that the United States exempts Hungary from the ban on energy from Russia, the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, has stated that the EU expects Budapest to submit a plan for divestment from Russian energy sources.
The government's calculations show that if Hungary is forced by the EU to abandon Russian natural gas and oil, prices will triple, directly hitting Hungarian citizens. Furthermore, the price of energy for businesses will increase, which, even if businesses survive, will be passed on to consumers.
The question that arises is why the EU has an interest in weakening the economy of a member state and worsening the financial situation of its population, and why the politicians who wish to take over the government of Hungary support these efforts, Magyar Nemzet wonders.
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