Purchasing power and electrical power – Ireland’s electricity prices in a European context
Recent Eurostat data shows Ireland had the highest household electricity prices in the EU in euro terms. But is a euro-for-euro comparison really the fairest measure? Ireland's EU ranking looks different when our household purchasing power is considered.
Virtual currency
The cost of living across EU countries varies, which means the same number of euros in your wallet buys different amounts of goods and services depending on where you are. To help make fair comparisons, Eurostat - which is the EU's central statistics office - uses a common 'virtual' currency to compare countries on a like-for-like basis. This virtual currency is the Purchasing Power Standard (PPS) and is designed so that one unit of PPS buys the same representative basket of goods and services anywhere in the EU.
How does Ireland compare?
The pair of charts below track Ireland’s ranking for the effective unit price of household electricity among EU-27 countries over time. The effective unit price captures the full cost paid by households, including the unit price, standing charges, taxes, and levies. The plots show price rankings for the DC consumption band, which corresponds to the prices experienced by households consuming 2,500-4,999 kWh of electricity per year. This is the most representative consumption band for households across the EU. In Ireland, 34.5% of household electricity consumption currently falls within the DC band.
The first chart shows electricity prices in euro terms. In Jul-Dec 2025, Ireland (highlighted by the thicker green line) recorded the highest household electricity price for the DC consumption band among EU-27 countries. Prior to 2022, Ireland typically ranked between 4th and 6th highest. More recently, Ireland's position has shown greater fluctuation, varying from 1st to 10th place in the EU-27 rankings. These fluctuations were largely driven by the interplay between volatility in natural gas prices (about half of Ireland's electricity supply comes from natural gas) and Government support measures, such as account credits and reduced VAT.
The second chart shows rankings based on the PPS-adjusted effective unit price of household electricity. In Jul-Dec 2025, Ireland ranked 5th highest in the EU-27 for the DC consumption band, just behind Germany in 4th place. Before 2022, Ireland typically ranked between 9th and 15th, suggesting electricity prices were above the EU average but not among the highest once differences in purchasing power were considered.
In Jul-Dec 2025, Romania ranked 1st in the EU, indicating the highest household electricity cost burden relative to purchasing power, while Spain ranked 10th. Sweden and the Netherlands ranked 21st and 23rd respectively, reflecting a comparatively lower household electricity cost burden after adjusting for purchasing power.
Context matters
Looking through a purchasing-power lens provides important context on affordability that a euro-for-euro comparison misses. The choice of measure matters. That's why SEAI's Energy Statistics Team publishes electricity and gas price data in both euro and PPS terms, providing a more complete picture of how energy costs compare across Europe.
