Latvian residents reveal their monthly electricity bills: from 15–20 euros to 400 euros

A discussion about household electricity costs has taken off in Latvia on the social network Threads. User “gunarix” asked others how much they pay on average each month, saying his bills seem to keep rising even in months when he is not at home at all. In the comments, residents named widely differing amounts, from under 20 euros to as much as 400 euros.

What users report paying

One commenter cites about 35 euros a month, another slightly under 40 euros, and someone else simply wrote “44”. User “zirnezane” says she pays 350–400 euros, though the size of the home and the consumption were not specified. User “madara.martini” usually pays around 20 euros, and in a month when she was away the bill was 15 euros, because only the refrigerator was running.

Another commenter, who is on an exchange-price tariff, pays about 40 euros on average. If the washing machine and dryer run a lot, it can reach 50 euros, but that is rare. Her home has many electrical appliances.

A private-house resident chose a fixed-price contract so he would not have to worry about exchange price swings. Consumption of roughly 350 kilowatt-hours a month costs him about 70 euros, and once all costs are counted, one kilowatt-hour comes to about 20–22 cents. He does not intend to cut consumption significantly just to save a euro a day.

Why the bill is not zero when nobody is home

An electricity bill includes not only the energy actually used but also distribution system service costs, including a fixed fee for maintaining the connection. Depending on the contract, other fixed charges may apply. In addition, a refrigerator, a router and other devices connected to the grid keep consuming electricity.

For exchange-tariff customers, the bill is also affected by the hours at which electricity is used, so similar consumption in different months does not always mean the same amount.