Electricity prices across Europe vary a lot, by country, supplier, tariff type, and even hour of the day. Rather than a price list that goes stale in weeks, here's how bills work and how to calculate costs yourself.
Where to find current prices
- Eurostat publishes household electricity prices for every EU country, with and without taxes, every six months.
- National regulators (e.g. Ofgem in the UK, CRE in France, Bundesnetzagentur in Germany) publish tariff data and caps.
- Your bill: the only number that matters for you.
What's in a European electricity bill
| Component | What it is |
|---|---|
| Unit rate | Price per kWh used |
| Standing / fixed charge | Daily or monthly fee regardless of use |
| Network charges | Transmission and distribution (often included in the above) |
| Taxes and levies | VAT, energy taxes, renewable levies |
| Capacity charge | In some countries, based on your connection size (kVA) |
Two households with the same kWh can pay different amounts because of standing charges and connection size.
Calculating appliance costs
cost = (watts ÷ 1000) × hours × price per kWh
Example with an illustrative price of €0.30/kWh:
| Appliance | Power | Use | kWh | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Laptop | 60 W | 8 h/day × 22 days | 10.6 | €3.17/month |
| Electric heater | 2,000 W | 4 h/day × 30 days | 240 | €72/month |
| Gaming PC | 400 W | 3 h/day × 30 days | 36 | €10.80/month |
My Electricity Cost calculator does this for any appliance. Enter your own price per kWh.
Dynamic and time-of-use tariffs
More European households can now choose dynamic tariffs tied to wholesale prices. They pay off when you can shift load:
- EV charging overnight or in sunny midday hours (EV charging costs)
- Heat pumps with thermal storage (heat pump running costs)
- Dishwashers and washing machines on timers
They're risky if you can't shift usage and prices spike.
In the UK
The UK has a quarterly energy price cap that limits unit rates and standing charges for default tariffs. See UK Energy Price Cap 2027.