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In an international comparison, German consumers have to spend a huge amount of money on electricity. This is demonstrated by an analysis of 126 countries carried out by the comparative portal Verivox with data adjusted for purchasing power of the energy service Global Petrol Prices and which is available to SPIEGEL.
Overall, Germany is ranked 16th in the international ranking, and most of the countries with even higher electricity prices are crisis-ravaged developing countries in which some residents cannot afford electricity at all.
The top ten include countries like Rwanda, Sierra Leone, and Burkina Faso. The only first world country in which, according to Verivox, electricity prices are even higher than in Germany is Portugal (13th).
Among the G20 countries, Germany is the country with the most expensive electricity, and by a wide margin. In Turkey and Italy, which are second and third, electricity prices are around ten cents cheaper when adjusted for purchasing power.
As a result, German consumers have to spend a higher proportion of their disposable income on electricity than customers in other wealthy EU countries. According to Verivox, the annual consumption of a single person household (1,500 kilowatt hours) represents about 1.2 percent of the average per capita economic output, more than double that of Sweden or the Netherlands. The per capita share of electricity is higher than in Germany only in comparatively poor EU countries like Romania or Bulgaria.
Overall, electricity prices in Germany have more than doubled since the turn of the millennium. The kilowatt hour currently costs about 32.10 cents on average in basic supply. The reason for the high price is the numerous taxes and fees, such as the EEG surcharge or network charges. They now represent around two-thirds of the price of electricity.
