Spain is shamed today after the EU named it as the 3rd most expensive EU state for electricity, and 2nd most expensive for ADSL.
This, despite median earnings and high unemployment putting the country into the low end of the EU development index. Brussels notes “with alarm” this is putting Spaniards into a position where basic utilities are becoming luxuries.
The cheapest fixed line ADSL offer is currently €38.7 a month, and the average household pays €800 a year for electricity, according to the EU stats.
The average ADSL on offer is pretty paltry notes the EU, which notes that it’s rather slow and clunky. Only Cyprus is more expensive for ADSL, mainly because they have to maintain the lines from the island to the continent I suppose.
After Spain comes Eire, at an average of €31.4 per contract. But both Cyprus and Eire have a higher standard of living than Spain.
Contrast this with the cheapest country: Lithuania, where ADSL starts at €10.30 a month, or Romania, at €11.2 a month.
The EU notes that Spain is twice as expensive as France.
As for electricity, the EU has asked how it’s possible that the average invoice has doubled since 2008. In Italy or Belgium, over the same period, it’s only gone up 3%.
As I’ve said before, Spain is the EU country with the highest distribution costs for electricity. It’s double what it is in the UK, for example.