Denmark's price of electricity surges by 83% in 12 months

Copenhagen, Dec 10

The price of electricity in Denmark increased by 15 per cent between the second and third quarters of 2022, and by approximately 83 per cent since the third quarter of 2021, the country's power supply authority said.

In July 2021, the average electricity price per kilowatt-hour (kWh), inclusive of tariffs, value-added tax (VAT) and other taxes, was 2.36 Danish kroner (DK), and it rose to 4.34 DKK in September 2022, Xinhua news agency reported citing the authority as saying on Friday.

According to experts, the skyrocketing electricity prices over the past year are primarily fuelled by the rising gas prices.

"When the price of gas rises, it also affects the price of electricity, as there is a close connection between the two," Danish news agency Ritzau quoted Kristian Rune Poulsen, chief consultant at the business organization Green Power Denmark, as saying.

According to Poulsen, an eventual gas shortage could increase the price of electricity further.

The government of Denmark has asked all public employees to help save energy this winter by turning off all unnecessary outdoor lighting, such as decorative seasonal lighting, on public buildings.