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Gas Prices (International Comparisons)

Volume 28: debated on Monday 26 July 1982

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asked the Secretary of State for Energy if he will list the average price per unit at which gas is supplied to industrial and domestic users, respectively, in each European Economic Community country.

The latest information is given in the following table. The figures are based on tariffs in force at 1 January 1982 prices and were collected by the Statistical Office of the European Community for specific consumption levels in certain cities in each country. Figures for Greece and Ireland are not available. National currencies have been converted using published exchange rates for 31 December 1981.

European prices 1 January 1982
Pence/therm
Industrial (excluding VAT)Domestic (including VAT)
Brussels30·551·6
Copenhagennot available*87·5
Paris25·753·9
Stuttgartnot available†57·7
Luxembourgnot available46·7
Turin28·936·0
Rotterdam27·936·8
Great Britain/London‡23·231·2
Unit values have been calculated for an approximate consumption of 4,000,000 therms per annum and 800 therms per annum for industrial and domestic consumption respectively.
Source: Statistical Office of the European Community.
* Price relates to Town gas.
† A price from SOEC is not available. The price quoted was obtained from a survey conducted among gas undertakings in certain European cities.
Source: Department of Energy survey of 900 large industrial consumers in Great Britain, which showed the average price of gas during the period January to March 1982 was 23·2p/therm. The average price realised in new and renewed contracts during the same period was 27·5p/therm.

Note: In making international comparisons it must always be borne in mind that difficulties can arise in times of changing prices and currency exchange fluctuations. There can also be wide ranges of prices within countries.