Blogs — HEPI

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05/08/24

Advancing retail competition in the EU: Italy’s termination of protected tariffs

In Italy, the deregulation of electricity and gas markets was completed in 2024, as part of European Commission reforms aimed at abolishing protected tariffs

05/08/24

Innovative network pricing models: The example of Norway, Sweden and Slovenia

The newly introduced dynamic energy pricing models in Norway, Sweden and Slovenia highlight a growing trend towards more flexible and consumer responsive pricing structures

05/02/24

Initiatives in the Greek electricity market target transparency and consumer awareness

Starting from January 1st, 2024, a new electricity tariff scheme was initiated in Greece, transitioning consumers to a "special tariff" with a known final price on the 1st day of each month

03/01/24

Reforms in the horizon for the regulated electricity tariff in Spain

Anticipated reforms in the PVPC aim to stabilize prices amid forecasts of a significant 2024 increase, following the expiration of energy crisis protection measures

07/03/23

Serbia’s planned energy sector reforms impact retail prices

The price hikes can be attributed to Serbia’s commitment to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to adjust electricity and gas prices by May 2024, facilitating the government’s intention to implement the national energy and climate plan (NECP)

07/03/23

Fixed vs Variable Retail Energy Prices in Europe

Since the beginning of the energy crisis, customers tend to choose variable contracts over the fixed due to their lower prices. Here is a comparison of variable versus fixed prices across the EUR-15 for February 2023

07/12/22

Energy crisis is highlighting consumer awareness and driving energy efficiency

European governments are responding to the unprecedented supply crisis by launching energy efficiency campaigns, aiming to enhance consumer awareness on energy savings and accelerate the transition to renewables.

07/12/22

The Rise of the Variable Price Tariff in Europe - variable prices compared

Given the current popularity of variable tariffs, and the divergence between fixed and variable tariffs, we thought it is important to compare variable prices across the EUR-15 for November 2022, using what is otherwise the HEPI price collection approach.

28/11/22

The Economist: High fuel prices could kill more Europeans than the war in Ukraine

The Economist built a statistical model to measure the effect the energy price shock will have in Europe’s mortality rates this winter. VaasaETT and the HEPI project, as key sources, provided historical electricity and natural gas end-user price data and a collection of support measures and their impact in the end-user price.

07/11/22

Government support measures fail to stem European household energy prices increases in October

Increases in energy retail prices are observed in October, even after the implementation of support measures by the European governments. VaasaETT CEO, Dr. Philip Lewis, highlights some of the most notable findings of the latest HEPI price analysis.

05/09/22

British consumers face updated price cap level, in effect from October

Ofgem, the energy regulator in Britain, set the price cap 80% higher, intensifying the pressure on more than 24 million households that will be affected by the controversial support mechanism

06/07/22

Greece adopts price caps on power generation

The new temporary mechanism introduces a wholesale price cap on producers’ earnings based on each power generation source (natural gas, lignite, RES and hydro).

31/05/22

Iberian exception: Spain and Portugal capping gas cost for power

In April, Spain and Portugal reached a political agreement with the European Commission to place a price cap on natural gas used in power plants, allowing a decoupling between electricity and gas prices.

28/02/22

Capping Europe’s household electricity bill crisis

How high would European household electricity prices be without the various subsidies, tax cuts, compensation payments, price caps and other measures recently brought in to protect consumers?

21/01/22

VaasaETT contributes key insights to EC quarterly reviews on energy markets

Powerful and topical findings, relating to soaring wholesale prices and their impact on household retail prices, were released this week in the latest European Commission Quarterly Reports on Electricity and Gas.

05/01/22

France shuts down nuclear reactors amid the deepening energy crisis

France’s main power generator was forced to extend the outage of two nuclear reactors of its power plants and shut down two more due to maintenance and safety reasons.

10/12/21

European household energy prices reach record levels

Europe is experiencing unprecedented retail energy prices, a crisis pervading the continent, driven in no small part by gas supply issues, demand growth and speculation.

03/12/21

Energy supplier bankruptcy wave across Europe

Smaller energy suppliers are the most affected and are being forced in several cases to leave the market, unable to withstand the minimum or negative margin and operating in loss.

03/12/21

Increased prices and relief measures in the Czech Republic

Following the recent market trend, prices in the Czech Republic have risen sharply for residential energy customers. More specifically, prices in Prague have increased by 8% and 42% for electricity and natural gas respectively, since the previous month.

03/11/21

UK consumers and suppliers face hardships as energy prices soar

UK is strongly affected by the wholesale energy prices rally that has been observed in the past months across Europe, experiencing a 75% average monthly increase between August-September 2021.

03/11/21

The European Commission’s toolbox against the energy price surge

Policy measures have been presented by the European Commission that would allow the national governments to protect the consumers from the soaring electricity and natural gas prices.

04/10/21

Record-high residential electricity prices in Oslo

Following the upward trend of the past months, the retail price for a typical household in Oslo, currently stands at 171.88 øre/kWh incl. VAT, a 19% increase compared to previous month’s price.

04/10/21

Electricity supply charge adjustments in Athens

In Athens, a newly introduced supply charge adjustment clause by the incumbent supplier PPC increased the energy component to an all-time high.

30/07/21

Fewer energy suppliers and higher retail prices in Brussels

Residential customers of Brussels appear to have fewer and fewer energy plans to choose from in recent years as energy suppliers are gradually ending their activities in the area.

30/07/21

Natural gas and electricity prices climb to record highs

The bounce back to the usual levels was expected after the resumption of the world activity. However, in several cases prices are surging even further reaching historical high records.