NICOSIA, CYPRUS—5 NOVEMBER 2026
The cost of electricity has decreased significantly across much of Europe, providing some relief to businesses, but many in Cyprus still face a substantial financial burden. While energy prices have started to decrease throughout the European Union, Cyprus is still one of the most expensive countries in Europe as far as business electricity costs are concerned.
The Eurostat report published on Wednesday, 4 November 2026, states that during the first half of 2026, businesses and other non-residential entities had to pay an average of US$0.26 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) of electricity in Cyprus, which put the country in second place together with Italy. The first place went to Ireland, with a price of approximately US$0.30 per kWh.
The gap is especially remarkable when compared to the EU average of around $0.20 per kWh, which means that businesses in Cyprus are spending around 28 percent more than the EU average.
For a company using 1,000 megawatt hours of electricity every year, the difference between the average price in Cyprus and the EU average price translated into an extra US$56,000 worth of electricity cost per year, simply by looking at reported prices, which shows that energy costs are an important factor of the budget for companies working in industries with high energy consumption.
At the same time, the first half of 2026 showed positive results in various locations. The electricity prices of non-residential customers across the EU fell by 2% against the second half of 2025 and by as much as 5.4% versus the first half of 2025.
The lowest price of electricity belongs to Finland at about US$0.10/kWh for the first half of 2026, while Sweden followed at US$0.14, and Denmark, Spain, and Portugal have recorded an average of approximately US$0.15/kWh.
The decline was evident across many countries, with 19 nations in the EU reporting annual decreases in prices. In Luxembourg the biggest decline was noted with a 23.8% decrease, which was followed by 11.9% in Czechia and 11.8% in Greece. On the contrary though, eight countries experienced increases in prices, including Sweden (18.8%), Finland (18.7%), and Bulgaria (14.2%).
According to the data, this presents Cyprus with a serious challenge in a tough economic situation. For example, while electricity prices decrease in many parts of Europe, Cyprus still has to deal with the problem of high electricity prices.
What is left to be found is whether Cyprus can reduce its electricity prices before electricity is priced so high that it becomes a real hindrance for generating investments and growing businesses.
