In the first half of 2026, Romanian households paid the European Union’s highest electricity price when measured in purchasing power terms, according to Eurostat. In purchasing power standards (PPS), the household bill stood at 46.9 units per 100 kWh — ahead of Poland (41.1) and Czechia (34.3).

At the other end of the scale, the lowest PPS-based prices were in Malta (13.8), Hungary (14.7) and Luxembourg (15.5). PPS adjusts prices for each country’s general price level, so the comparison shows how hard the bill weighs on household budgets, not only the euro price of a kilowatt-hour.

On average across the EU, household electricity prices fell 2.2% in the first half of 2026, to €0.28/kWh from €0.29/kWh in the second half of 2025. Taxes and levies remained a large share of the final bill, easing only slightly from 28.9% to 28.4%.

Compared with the same period in 2025, Romania recorded the sharpest rise in household prices in national currency: +51.6%, followed by Ireland (+19.8%) and Finland (+18.4%). Denmark saw −31.7% and Luxembourg −24.1%. The figures cover the medium household consumption band (2,500–5,000 kWh a year) and include taxes, levies and VAT.

Euro price gaps between member states remain wide: six countries reported prices above €0.30/kWh and five below €0.20/kWh. Even after the mild half-year decline in 2026, EU average prices stay well above pre-2022 energy-crisis levels.

For Romania, the combination is especially harsh: the EU’s steepest year-on-year increase and, at the same time, the highest price in purchasing-power terms. Beyond the euro quote, electricity weighs more heavily on real household incomes than elsewhere in the bloc.

Source: Romanians pay the EU’s highest electricity price in purchasing-power terms (Veridica); confirmation: Household electricity prices ease in 1st half of 2026 (Eurostat)