Malta had the fourth highest electricity prices in the EU at the end of last year, with the removal of government subsidies over the past years having had a big impact on bills being paid by households.

The island is currently the only EU member state which is totally dependent on oil to fire its power stations and for the production of all its energy needs. Electricity consumer prices have shot up by 12.3 per cent between the second half of 2009 and 2010 – the fourth highest rise in the EU following Lithuania (+31 per cent), Cyprus (+23 per cent) and Greece (+17 per cent).

However, the prices of electricity in the countries experiencing steeper rises than Malta last year were still lower than those being charged by Enemalta.

According to new data published by Eurostat yesterday in Brussels, the average price of a 100 kWh of electricity in Malta at the end of 2010 was €22.66 when expressed in Purchasing Power Parity (PPP). This is an artificial common reference currency unit that eliminates price level differences between countries.

This makes Maltese electricity the fourth costliest in the EU following Hungary (€25.70), Slovakia (€24.66) and Germany (€23.18). Until a few years ago, Malta had one of the cheapest electricity tariffs in the bloc.

Cyprus, an island state which is very comparable to Malta as much of its energy is based on the burning of fossil fuels, has also experienced a steep rise, with the average price of 100 kWh only a few cents lower than Malta’s.

Electricity prices are expected to rise again this year if the international price of oil does not go down. The price of a barrel of crude oil yesterday stood at $95.53 with a forecast of reaching $110 a barrel in a year’s time.