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European wholesale gas prices climbed to their highest level in nearly four years on Tuesday, intensifying concerns about winter energy costs as storage levels remain low, even as household electricity and gas bills have risen far more slowly than transport fuels across the EU.
Dutch TTF benchmark gas futures reached €87.20 per megawatt-hour, up from roughly €32 on the eve of the Iran war, according to Euronews Business. The conflict in the Middle East has disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, a route that normally carries about a fifth of the world's liquefied natural gas.
Diesel and petrol outpace household bills
The pressure at the pump has been sharper than in the home. EU average consumer diesel prices rose 35% between 23 February, before tensions in the Middle East escalated, and 5 October 2026, while petrol prices increased 23%, according to the EU Weekly Oil Bulletin.
Over a comparable period, residential gas prices including taxes rose 12% on average across EU capital cities between 2 February and 1 September 2026, while electricity prices increased 4.2%. Those figures come from the Household Energy Price Index (HEPI), compiled by Energie-Control Austria, MEKH and VaasaETT.
Fixed contracts and government support can delay or soften the pass-through of higher wholesale prices to household bills. Higher gas prices can also push up electricity costs by making gas-fired power generation more expensive.
Brussels and Stockholm top the tables
As of early September 2026, residential electricity prices including taxes ranged from 8.4 euro cents per kilowatt-hour in Kyiv to 41.3 c€/kWh in Brussels, with the EU average across capital cities at 27.2 c€/kWh. Berlin (39.6), Dublin (38.7), Bern (38.6) and London (38.3) completed the top five most expensive cities for electricity, followed by Rome (36.6), Vienna (34.4) and Prague (34.3).
At the cheaper end, Budapest (10.3), Podgorica (11.3), Belgrade (11.6) and Valletta (12.3) followed Kyiv. Madrid (28.3) and Paris (28.1) sat below Berlin, Dublin, Bern and London but still above the EU average.
Gas markets tell a different story. Residential natural gas prices including taxes range from 1.5 c€/kWh in Kyiv to 34.8 c€/kWh in Stockholm, a clear outlier at the top, with Amsterdam a distant second at 21.2 c€/kWh. The EU average across capital cities is 11.9 c€/kWh.
Among the capitals of Europe's five largest economies, Paris is the most expensive for residential gas at 15.7 cents per kWh, while Madrid (10.1 cents) and London (10.3 cents) are the cheapest. Rome (15.2 cents) and Berlin (12.5 cents) are above the EU average.
Purchasing power reshuffles the rankings
Adjusting for purchasing power standards, which account for differences in the cost of living, changes the picture substantially. Bucharest becomes the most expensive city for electricity at 55.1, while Oslo ranks as the cheapest at 11.5. Among the five largest economies, Rome (38.2) is the most expensive in PPS terms and Paris (25.8) the cheapest, with Berlin (35.5), Madrid (31.6) and London (30.9) all above the EU average of 29.6.
Bucharest and Warsaw record the largest upward shifts in electricity rankings, each rising 10 places, while Bern falls 20 places and Copenhagen 13. For gas, Stockholm remains the most expensive in PPS terms at 28.5 and Budapest the cheapest at just 3.6, with Lisbon (18.6), Amsterdam (18.1), Rome (15.9) and Sofia (15.6) completing the top five. London (8.3) is the cheapest among the five largest economies, while Rome (15.9) is the most expensive; Paris (14.4) is above the EU average and Madrid (11.3) and Berlin (11.2) below it.
Sofia shows the biggest gas shift, ranking 18th in euro terms but fifth in PPS terms, while Riga moves up six places. Dublin and Brussels record the largest downward shifts, each falling 10 places, with Bern down nine and London seven.
Cheap on one bill, costly on another
Households in some capitals pay little for electricity and a lot for gas, or the reverse. Stockholm and Amsterdam combine low or mid-range electricity prices with the most expensive gas among the capitals compared. Bucharest, Brussels and London show the opposite pattern, with high electricity prices but relatively cheap gas.
Between February and September 2026, some cities saw significant changes. For electricity, Lisbon recorded the largest rise at 22%, followed by Amsterdam. The comparison covers prices per unit of energy rather than total bills, which also depend on how much households consume.
With wholesale gas at a near-four-year high and storage levels low, the coming months will test how far fixed contracts and government support can shield consumers from further increases. The divergence between cities and between fuels suggests that the burden of Europe's energy costs this winter will fall unevenly, and that the gap between transport and household energy inflation may narrow if wholesale pressure persists.
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