Subject:         Energy prices

The Energy Union means making energy more secure, affordable and sustainable, allowing for a free flow of energy across borders and a secure supply in every EU Member State.

Energy bills include wholesale costs and retail prices. Charges are often added to network tariffs to cover other costs such as those related to public service obligations and technology support. Finally, taxes and levies are applied.

Member States use taxes and levies for a wide variety of purposes that might also include internalising the external costs of energy production and consumption, and financing energy-specific policies such as climate and energy policies.

Unfortunately, the data on the tax exemptions and other subsidies offered by Member States in the energy field is not transparent and lacks consistency.

The Commission stated in 2014 in its staff working document on energy prices and costs in Europe (COM(2014)0021) that it would prepare an in-depth study with a consistent, complete and detailed breakdown of data on the full costs of and subsidies for the various technologies in the electricity sector.

Could the Commission please give details of the time frame and status of this study, and state what its main outcome will be?

Answer given by Mr Arias Cañete on behalf of the Commission (18.7.2016)

The Commission acknowledges the relevance of energy prices and the importance of ensuring that the energy costs are affordable for households and businesses. This was partly the reason why the Commission committed to producing a factual report on energy prices and costs every two years as one of the actions of the Energy Union Roadmap.

A major part of the work for the 2016 energy prices and costs report, due by the end of the year, is the analysis of price components. This will help to have a better understanding of the role in prices of energy taxes and levies, network costs and energy costs and address the lack of harmonisation and transparency in that data which was highlighted in report in 2014.

In this context, the Commission in cooperation with Member States has collected ad hoc data on the three energy price components and 10 energy tax and levy sub components. This will provide the most transparent and consistent set of EU energy price data ever produced which will serve to shed light on what each Member State does regarding its taxes and policy-related levies, the exemptions they offer, and the different impacts of prices on different sized industries and households. The data and analyses in the report will provide fact-based evidence for discussion which is necessary to ensure that our energy policy objectives are reached as cost effectively as possible, minimising costs to households and ensuring the competitiveness of our businesses.