Spain’s SMEs face steep electricity costs in European comparison
A recent study highlights a striking gap in electricity prices across Europe, placing Spanish small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) among the most affected. The Catalan employers association, which represents SMEs in the region, notes that energy expenses in Spain are among Europe’s highest. The analysis covers price trends for the 2018–2021 period and uses data drawn from Eurostat. For consumers using less than 20 MWh, the study records an average rate of 22.96 cents per kilowatt-hour, with a price of 13.3 cents per kWh observed in the most recent year of the data set. These figures show Spain’s energy costs stand above the average among the nineteen other European countries examined two decades ago, reflecting a persistent competitive hurdle for small firms.
Italy, Ireland, Germany, and Belgium are noted as the few European economies that exceed Spain in electricity costs. Price ranges are reported to be as high as 27 cents per kWh in Italy and as low as 23 cents in some Belgian SMEs. Other major economies are also listed in the study: Portugal occupies the tenth slot, France the thirteenth, and Denmark the sixteenth. Norway and Finland are cited as benchmarks that help complete the regional picture. Concretely, Spanish SMEs pay around 15 percent more than their peers in Portugal, roughly 27 percent more than those in France, and more than double the prices faced by companies in Norway or Finland.
Electricity costs are framed in the report as a crucial input for the competitiveness of an economy. They are described as a fundamental factor used by all firms in both the manufacturing and service sectors, with varying degrees of impact depending on the industry. The emphasis is placed on how energy pricing shapes operational costs and influences the price formation process for goods and services in the broader market.
According to the data, price disparities persist across firm sizes. The same dataset shows that the average price paid by SMEs is about 58 percent higher than that paid by slightly larger companies consuming between 20 and 500 MWh. When compared to even larger users, the gap widens to around 81 percent for consumption levels up to 2,000 MWh. These figures underscore a substantial efficiency challenge for smaller businesses, which already operate on tighter margins and face heightened vulnerability to energy price volatility.
SMEs lose
The report underscores that energy costs significantly influence national economic performance, market competitiveness, productivity, and long-term viability. The Catalan employers association stated that European SMEs experience an average electricity price of 8.46 cents per kWh for the most expensive energy tier, a level that is about 58 percent higher than that faced by large companies. In Spain, the discrepancy between consumption segments translates into a price difference of around 4.28 cents per kWh per unit of production, a gap described as notably wide by the association.
In addition, when examining slightly larger firms, their ranking within Europe improves. These firms occupy the ninth position in terms of electricity prices among European companies, following peers in Portugal and Austria, among others. The report also notes that Germany remains a country where electricity costs are among the highest in Europe, reinforcing the overall pattern of elevated pricing across several major European economies.