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ARCHIVED - Spain and UK among four countries where electricity prices quadrupled in 2021
Wholesale electricity prices in Spain went through the roof last year due to a rise in gas prices and increasing European CO2 emission charges
Electricity prices quadrupled in Spain, France, Germany and the UK in 2021, compared to the previous five years, due to soaring gas prices and the cost of CO2 emission allowances.
And according to the Bank of America, the situation shows no signs of improving with energy costs in Spain forecast to catapult by a further 475 euros a year.
According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), the hike was widespread across all major advanced economies, with prices rising by 64% compared to the baseline period, but nowhere was it as exaggerated as in Western Europe.
In its half-yearly report on electricity markets published last Friday, the IEA notes that in the last quarter of 2021, wholesale electricity prices in Nordic countries were almost three times higher than in the same three months of 2016-2020.
Meanwhile, in the US and Japan, price rises in the fourth quarter reached 75% and 80%, respectively. In Australia, the increase reached 174% in the second quarter due to coal shortage problems, but these were resolved resulting in a 50% decrease until the fourth quarter.
In addition to price increases, electricity demand grew worldwide last year.
After falling slightly in 2020 due to the pandemic crisis, global electricity demand in 2021 grew by 5.7%, the largest single-year increase since 2010, with China accounting for half of the increase in consumption growth.
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