Traditionally, Romania has been competitive with other European countries in terms of electricity prices for industrial consumers. However, after the recent rise in prices on the Romanian market, this advantage has disappeared.
The average price of electricity paid by small and medium-sized industrial consumers (with consumption between 500 and 2,000 MWh per year) increased in the European Union by 39 % in the first quarter of this year, compared to the first quarter of 2020. The average price in the European Union was 13.02 eurocents/kWh, excluding VAT.
Romania still has a slightly lower average price for small and medium-sized industrial consumers, at 12.19 eurocents/kWh. However, although this price is still below the European average, it is higher compared to the surrounding countries. Thus, in the first quarter of 2021, the price in Hungary was 9.4 euro cents/kWh, in Bulgaria -8.43 eurocents/kWh, in Greece – 10.66 eurocents/ kWh and in Poland 11.47 eurocents/kWh. The price in Romania is similar to that paid by industrial consumers in Austria and Slovakia.
