Household electricity bills in the UK are some of the highest in Europe, data suggests.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham claimed in his first Commons statement UK “household energy bills are the highest in Europe”. It was followed by Reform UK leader Nigel Farage who said on social media that British people and businesses “face the highest energy costs in the Western world”.
While the UK doesn’t have the highest energy bills overall, data suggests domestic electricity prices are among the highest in Europe, Fact checking charity Full-Fact has highlighted.
It comes as the Ofgem energy price cap is set to rise and as the National Audit Office (NAO) reported that a typical household paid £44 towards grid construction and maintenance in 2025/2026 — a figure which could rise to £104 in the next five years.
Here, The Independent reveals how UK bills compare to the rest of Europe and why they could increase.
How does the UK compare?
According to data published by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, UK domestic electricity unit prices are among the highest in Europe.
The government publishes figures comparing UK electricity and gas prices with those in most of the 32 members of the International Energy Agency (IEA), as well as EU member states.
Comparing the data for people who consumed between 2,500 – 4,999 kWh per year in 2025, in the UK customers paid an average of £29.70 per kWh last year. That’s in comparison to £22.41 in France, £22.99 in Sweden and £21.22 in the Netherlands.
However, some countries including Germany, which paid an average of £33.01 per kWh, and Ireland which paid £31.22, did pay more in 2025.
Energy bills mapped:
These figures do not compare the overall average household energy bills in these countries, which are affected by other factors, including the amount of energy consumed by households in different countries. The average gas prices in the UK are also lower than many places in Europe.
Gas prices in the UK were 34 per cent below the EU average and electricity prices 18 per cent above the EU average in the second half of 2025.
Why are bills set to rise?
Domestic gas and electricity prices soared during the ‘energy crisis’ of late 2021 to early 2023. Average annual bills for typical levels of dual fuel consumption rose by 54 per cent in the April 2022 price cap, and by a further 27 per cent in the October 2022 cap.
Although energy prices have fallen, they are still not as low as they were before 2021.
The Middle East conflict has affected wholesale prices and heatwaves across Europe added further pressure by increasing gas demand for power generation to meet air conditioning and cooling demands.
As a result, the energy price cap will rise by 4 per cent from October 1 for a typical household in England, Scotland and Wales.
The regulator Ofgem said bills will rise by £60 per year – or £5 per month – to £1,723 for the average household using both electricity and gas.
That’s the highest average bill since July 2023.
It will mean bills for typical levels of consumption will be 58 per cent above their winter 2021/22 level.
Will updating Britain’s aging power grid help?
Up to £70 billion in investment is required over the next five years to upgrade and maintain Great Britain’s transmission network. Constructed predominantly between the 1950s and 1970s around major fossil fuel power stations, the infrastructure is now outdated and poorly suited to the rapid boom in renewable electricity.
In a new report, the National Audit Office (NAO) highlighted that a typical household paid £44 towards grid construction and maintenance in 2025/2026. This expenditure is projected to increase to £104 per household by March 2031.
But, energy regulator Ofgem estimates that billpayers will ultimately save £30 a year by that point overall as a result of grid investment. That saving is calculated against wholesale electricity prices and the “constraint” payments required to balance the network if upgrades are not fast-tracked to cope with renewables.
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