Updated | Maltese electricity prices among the lowest in the EU, Eurostat figures show

Household electricity prices in Malta were the seventh lowest in the EU in 2017, according to Eurostat data published on Wednesday morning.

According to the statistics, electricity prices in the European Union decreased by 0.2% when compared to the same period in 2016, standing at €20.5 per 100kWh.

Maltese consumers paid €13.6 per 100kWh, less than half the €30.5 paid in Germany, where consumers paid the highest rates. The member state with the lowest electricity prices was Bulgaria, at €9.8.

While taxes and levies in the EU made up on average 40% of the electricity price charged to households, taxes were lowest in Malta, sitting at 5% of the total price.

When expressed in purchasing power standards (PPS), an artificial common reference currency that eliminates general price level differences between countries, it can be seen that, relative to the cost of other goods and services, the lowest household electricity prices were found in Finland (13.0 PPS per 100 kWh), Luxembourg (13.4) and the Netherlands (14.0), and the highest in Germany (28.8), Portugal (28.0), Belgium (26.4), Romania (26.0) and Poland (25.4).

The adjusted price for Malta was €16.3 per 100kWh.

Furthermore, Eurostat said that Malta had one of the highest increases in energy prices, amounting to a 7.1% increase between the second half of 2016 and the second half of 2017 – the third highest increase across the bloc.

People paying more for their electricity - PN

The Nationalist Party (PN) said in a statement that the Eurostat figures had shown that electricity prices in Malta had increased, "at a time when the international price of oil was stable".

"This is another confirmation that people are paying more for their electricity," the PN said.

"People are receiving water and electricity bills more frequently than they should. From investigations carried out by the Nationalist Party with the first 100 bills brought to the Dar Centrali by people, it transpired that 80% paid more than they needed to for energy."

It stressed that the increase in 7.1% in the price of energy needed to be read within the context of allegations by the Daphne Project that Malta's agreement with SOCAR had led to the country paying some $40 million more for its electricity.