Ireland among most expensive countries in the world for electricity

A new study from Cable.co.uk which measures the price of electricity in over 200 countries worldwide has revealed Ireland to be one of the most expensive places for consumers.

Ireland was ranked as the 59th most expensive country in the world for its electricity prices, according to the new data, placing in 172nd place out of a total of 230 countries included in the report.

As part of its analysis, Cable.co.uk assessed a total of 3,883 energy tariffs across a six-month period up to November 30th 2021 to compare the cost of 1kWh of electricity.

With an average price of €0.1886 ($0.213) for 1kWh, Ireland was also ranked as the 9th most expensive country out of the 46 European countries analysed.

How Ireland compares to other EU countries

For this report Cable.co.uk split Europe into its Western, Eastern and Baltic regions, with by far the cheapest electricity available in the Eastern bloc.

Out of all 46 European countries analysed, Ireland came in as the 9th most expensive country in Europe. It also placed 172nd out of a total of 230 countries and territories analysed worldwide.

Our neighbour the UK is the 5th most expensive when it comes to all European countries (€0.223 on average per kWh) and ranks slightly dearer than us, coming in at 190th overall.

Meanwhile, Denmark is the most expensive country for electricity in both Western Europe and Europe overall with an average price of €0.310 (2.31 DKK) per kWh.

Serbia has the cheapest electricity in the whole of Europe at €0.051 (6.408 RSD), while all the Eastern European nations bar two sit in the cheaper half of the table.

However, if you’re considering moving elsewhere in Western Europe for cheaper electricity your best bet is Denmark’s northerly neighbour, Norway, where the average price of one kWh is €0.08 (0.84 NOK).

Here’s the top five cheapest and top five most expensive countries for electricity in all 46 European countries included in the report.

The results in detail

According to the latest data reported by Cable.co.uk, the global average price for electricity is $0.165 or €0.151 per kWh. Ireland is well above average at €0.1886 per kWh.

Libya tops the list, offering the cheapest electricity in the world at just €0.008 ($0.007) per kWh. This may come as a surprise for many, but as the report outlines, Libya’s energy prices are ‘heavily state-subsidised’, and the country is entirely self-sufficient when it comes to electricity, ‘owing to its plentiful oil reserves and growing renewable energy projects.’

On the other end of the scale, the most expensive electricity in the world can be found in the Solomon Islands, where one kWh will cost you €0.61 ($0.69).

Meanwhile, the cheapest region in the world for electricity according to the report is to be found in the former USSR countries, or CIS (Commonwealth Independent States), with an average price of €0.044 ($0.049) per kWh.

All CIS countries sit well inside the cheaper half of the table with Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Georgia coming in 4th, 22nd, and 61st cheapest overall.

Oceania however is the most expensive region in the world, averaging €0.266 ($0.303) per kWh. All but three countries in Oceania sit on the more expensive half of the table. Island nations such as Samoa, Tonga, and Vanuatu are all some of the most expensive countries for electricity.

The reasons for such a wide divergence in price around the world is down to a few factors. According to the report, generally speaking the more expensive places for electricity tend to be small island nations where generation is more difficult with fewer or no large scale power stations.

Conversely, the cheapest places in the world to buy electricity tend to be countries where either oil and gas prices are very cheap (countries that produce fossil fuels on a large scale), or where household electricity usage is very small and therefore tends not to require a lot of expensive infrastructure.

How other regions shape up

Asian nations make up less than a fifth of the top 20 cheapest countries for electricity, with none of them reaching the top ten. Bhutan (€0.035) is the cheapest, followed by Mongolia (€0.036) and Iran (€0.037). Japan is the most expensive of the Asian countries (€0.186) followed by Singapore (€0.177).

The United States is the cheapest country in North America (€0.097), followed by Canada (€0.106) and Greenland (€0.222). Meanwhile the most expensive is Bermuda at (€0.302), more than three times as expensive as the US.

In the Near East, Kuwait leads with the cheapest prices and is also the 10th cheapest in the world overall, with 1kWh costing an average of €0.026. Coming in joint second are both Qatar and Yemen at (€0.035). Cyprus has the most expensive prices in the region at €0.186.

Looking further south, rather unusually, sub-Saharan Africa has four of the top ten cheapest countries in the world as well as three of the top ten most expensive. Angola is both cheapest in the region and second-cheapest in the world, with an average of €0.008 per KWh. The most expensive in the region is Saint Helena at €0.542 per kWh.

Switch and save on your energy bills

We may be in the midst of an energy crisis at the moment, but there is still value to be had by switching to a cheaper supplier. 

The energy market in Ireland is very competitive with many different energy suppliers competing for business. These suppliers are still offering enticing new customer discounts to those willing to switch. 

If you switch you could get a discount of up to 30-40% off standard rates. Despite prices going up, the average customer who switches could save €600 on their annual energy bills!

Use our energy price comparison service to see what you could save and make the switch today. Making the switch from one provider to another is really easy and can be carried out online in less than five minutes.

If you’re still in contract and don’t want to pay an early exit fee to switch energy provider, consider adjusting your habits around the home to reduce your energy consumption instead. It’s surprisingly easy! 

Here are 15 ways to use less electricity and save money and 10 ways that you can heat your home for less this winter.

Did you know that you can also compare prices for broadband, insurance and banking products on bonkers.ie? See what other household bills you could save on today!

Let’s hear from you

Are you surprised to hear we’re among the most expensive for electricity globally? Have you switched energy supplier to save this winter? We’d love to hear from you in the comments below! 

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