Portugal was one of the five countries in the European Union where electricity prices for households went down in the first half of 2023, when compared to the same period in the previous year, according to the statistics disclosed by Eurostat today.

Electricity prices went down 6% in Portugal, behind Denmark (-15%) and Spain (-41%), while prices in Malta and Luxembourg dropped 3% and 0.4%, respectively.

In the other 22 European Union countries, electricity prices for households continued to rise, albeit in a more moderate way than in the second half of 2022. The Netherlands are at the top of the table with a rise of 953%, due to taxes, followed by Lithuania (88%), Romania (77%), and Latvia (74%). 

As for the price of gas for households, Portugal is amid the countries in the middle of the table with a 60% rise in the first half of 2023.

This list is headed by Latvia (139%), Romania (134%), Austria (103%), the Netherlands (99%), and Ireland (+73). Only three countries saw their gas prices go done (Estonia, Croatia, and Italy), at around 0 or -0.6%,

Energy prices shot up in the first half of 2022 due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and stabilised due to assistance measures in several countries, that have meanwhile been decreased.