Danish Electricity Prices Lower than German and English

30 March 2015

Danish companies have competitive electricity prices compared to the EU-average. This is evident based on new figures from the 1. half of 2014, presented by the Danish Energy Agency. The figures apply to both large and small companies and include taxes as well as PSO.

“Many critics have feared that Denmark’s commitment to renewable energy would lead to sky-high electricity prices for Danish companies. However, this is far from the case. On the contrary, Denmark’s ambitious energy politic and our electricity trading with Norway, Sweden, and Northern Germany have secured both cheap and green power to Danish companies”, says the Danish Minister for Climate, Energy and Building - Rasmus Helveg Petersen

The Danish Energy Agency ‘s assessment of the development of the companies’ electricity prices shows that most Danish companies since 2008 have had a relatively low and stable electricity price compared to the European average.

New method allows agreement on electricity price
In recent years, there has been uncertainty about Danish electricity prices, which so far have been calculated based on statistics from the EUROSTAT. As a result, the Danish Energy Agency, the Confederation of Danish Industry, the Danish Energy Association, the DERA Secretariat, and Statistics Denmark have collectively conducted a pilot project to obtain more accurate calculations of the electricity prices.

The project is based on questionnaires answered by all electricity trading companies in Denmark. It shows that the current statistics of corporate power prices have underestimated the prices in the first half year of 2014 with 3-8 cents / kWh.

One major reason for this price difference is that the EUROSTAT’s figures do not include the companies’ use of fixed price contracts. But even with this correction in calculations the Danish electricity prices are still lower than the average in EU and in other neighboring countries, such as Germany and England.

“It is a major strength that we now agree with the Confederation of Danish Industry, the Danish Energy Association, and Statistics Denmark on the calculation method. This means that we can focus on actual electricity prices, and not get lost in discussions about calculation methods and when discussing Danish companies’ electricity prices”, says the Minister for Climate, Energy and Building.

Facts:
- The new study is based on Danish companies' electricity prices, which are lower than in the 28 EU countries.
- Danish companies have lower prices than companies in Germany and England.
- The study is based on reports of actual electricity prices paid by that companies.
- This year, electricity prices will be lower for Danish companies, as the new study does not include the easing of PSO spending until 2020, which was adopted in last year's growth package.

Source: Danish Ministry of Climate, Energy and Building