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Electricity Prices by Country: Where Household Power Costs the Most

Data for January–June 2026 (latest published semester) · Updated October 31, 2026

In January–June 2026, household electricity was most expensive in Ireland at 45.2¢/kWh (38.7 euro cents), per Eurostat. The U.S. average over the same months was 18.2¢/kWh, per EIA data — cheaper than 29 of the 41 countries compared here. All prices include all taxes and levies.

Household electricity prices, January–June 2026

All countries compared

U.S. cents per kWh, converted at the ECB average exchange rate for the semester. PPS (purchasing-power standard) adjusts for local price levels across European countries.

How this comparison works

• European countries: Eurostat nrg_pc_204, household band DC (annual consumption 2,500–4,999 kWh), all taxes and levies included, published half-yearly. Coverage includes the EU, EFTA, and EU candidate countries.
• United States: our EIA-derived average (residential revenue ÷ sales) averaged over the same six months. Note the average U.S. home uses far more electricity (~13,800 kWh/year) than the European band, which tends to make the U.S. unit price look lower relative to bills.
• Currency: euro prices converted to U.S. dollars at the ECB average reference rate for the semester (1.167 USD/EUR).
• Australia (NEM): derived from the Australian Energy Regulator's State of the Energy Market data: the median market offer bill in each of the 13 National Electricity Market distribution networks divided by that network's average household consumption (the AER's own construction), averaged across networks, converted at the ECB AUD rate for the same semester. Covers the eastern states, South Australia, Tasmania and the ACT — not Western Australia or the Northern Territory. The AER publishes annually, so this row can trail the Eurostat semester; it is labeled with the period it covers.
• The United Kingdom left Eurostat's collection after Brexit; the UK, Japan, Canada, and other OECD countries are on our roadmap via their national statistical sources.

See also gasoline and diesel prices by country (weekly), natural gas prices by country, U.S. rates by state, why electric bills are rising, and what curtailment is (with the disputed China estimates).

Sources: Eurostat (nrg_pc_204, CC BY 4.0), EIA, the Australian Energy Regulator, ECB reference rates. Data are average effective household prices including all taxes; your tariff will differ. See methodology.