An analysis of power market prices in 2013 shows that wholesale prices in Germany are among the lowest in Europe

The competitiveness of energy-intensive industries in Europe is subject of a heated debate among various stakeholders at present, not least because energy prices are perceived as being higher in some European countries than in many other regions worldwide. Therefore Agora Energiewende performed a short analysis to examine the possibilities and limitations of comparing electricity prices for energy-intensive industries in different countries. The starting point is a comparison of wholesale spot prices in different EU Member States and selected US power markets as these are particularly relevant for energy-intensive industries, which are typically – partially or fully – exempt from various supplemental price components, like grid tariffs and renewable energy levies. This analysis shows that wholesale spot prices are declining in many parts of Europe, and are lowest in Germany and Central Eastern Europe (especially in Poland and the Czech Republic). Meanwhile, prices have been rising in the US. Although wholesale prices can serve as a starting point for comparing the energy costs of European industries, especially energy-intensive industries, this approach has inherent limitations.  Also, caution must be exercised when attempting to directly compare industrial end-use prices between countries and sectors. Because firms in different regions and sectors vary considerably in the extent to which they pay wholesale market prices and/or receive tax exemptions and levy reductions, comparing prices between sectors and countries is a difficult task. The heterogeneity of the situation is not fully and transparently captured by European statistics. Case studies performed in our analysis serve as illustrative examples.