Electricity Became More Than a Third More Expensive

The energy prices for households decreased again in March 2025. Compared to February, household energy became 1.5 percent cheaper according to the Energy Price Index (EPI) of the Austrian Energy Agency. However, in year-on-year comparison, the energy prices increased by 2.2 percent - driven mainly by the high electricity prices, which were 36.3 percent above the previous year's level in March.

Decrease in Heating Oil

The price drop was particularly significant for heating oil (minus 4.1 percent compared to the previous month, minus 8.6 percent compared to the previous year) as well as for diesel and super gasoline (each minus 3.2 percent in monthly comparison). Gas prices stagnated at the previous month's level but were 11.6 percent below the value of March 2024.

Increase in Electricity

Electricity and district heating became slightly more expensive in monthly comparison by 0.2 percent each. Energy agency expert Lukas Zwieb pointed to the expiration of government support measures as the reason for the strong increase in electricity prices in year-on-year comparison. Price declines could continue in April - due to falling oil prices, a weak dollar, and higher photovoltaic production.

Firewood Cheaper

Prices also remained stable to declining for firewood (minus 1.1 percent compared to the previous month) and wood pellets (plus 0.2 percent). In year-on-year comparison, they have decreased by 9.5 and 10.5 percent, respectively.

(APA/Red)

This article has been automatically translated, read the original article here.