The electricity bill has risen 19% in August, reaching its highest level since 2022

The electricity bill has risen by more than 19% in August compared to the same month last year, fueled by rising demand for heat waves and rising natural gas prices, making it the most expensive receipt this month since 2022.

Specifically, the regulated rate, known asPVPC , which is contracted by about eight million households , has increased this month by 19.04% the receipt of light from an average user of U00a0 compared to August 2025, reaching EUR 88.81 compared to EUR 74.04 in the same period of the previous year.

Compared to last July, when the electricity bill also experienced a significant increase , the increase in August was 3.65%, an increase of about EUR 3.13.

In fact, until last June, the light receipt was somewhat lightened by the measures of the royal decree passed in March to deal with the impact of the war on the Middle East. However, on 1 June, the reduced rate of 10% of VAT on electricity ended and returned to the usual 21% due to the moderation of the CPI.

On the other hand, the second royal decree to respond to the crisisin the Middle East, adopted at the end of June, provides for a gradual reduction of the Value Tax on Electricity Production  until its total elimination, from 7% to 5% in 2026, 3.5% in 2027 and 0% in 2028.

What are protective measures?

In the event of poor developments in electricity and gas prices, there is also a safeguard mechanism that allows measures relating to the Excise Duty on Electricity and VAT on energy products to be reactivated.

Thus, if the specific electricity CPI of one month were to rise above 15% from the same month of the previous year, the measures adopted in March would be reapplied, that is, the VAT on electricity, natural gas, pellet and wood would fall again from 21% to 10%, while the Excise Tax on Electricity would fall again from 5.1% to 0.5%.

Wholesale market prices

The average daily price of the wholesale electricity market, pool, has exceeded 118 euros/MWh in August, its highest level since February 2023. In some hours, particularly due to solar power production at noon, prices have been close to zero or even negative, while at night prices have exceeded 200 euros/MWh.

Pool has an impact on the regulated PVPC rate, although its weight has decreased since 2024 due to the integration of futures market prices into the calculation.