Gas in Macedonia Is Below the European Average in Euros - and the Most Expensive in Europe by Purchasing Power

Two truths about the same gas, depending on who is telling it. In the official comparison, natural gas for households in Macedonia costs 10.83 euro cents per kilowatt-hour, slightly below the European Union average of 11.03 cents. Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski said in a television interview that the government is doing everything so that citizens pay the lowest possible energy prices, without the big jumps seen in parts of Europe.

Now take the same figure and adjust it for purchasing power. For the first half of 2026, Eurostat puts Macedonia at 20.8 purchasing power standard units (PPS) per 100 kilowatt-hours. That is the highest value among all the European countries in the comparison. Sweden, which has the highest nominal price in the EU, is at 17.7. Portugal at 15, the Netherlands at 13.8. In euros, we are below average. By purchasing power, we are at the top.

The good news for households is almost theoretical. According to the Energy Community, there are only 496 household users of natural gas in the country. The average retail price for them fell by 6.9 percent, to 1,832.7 denars per gigajoule. At the same time, household gas in Europe got 10.2 percent cheaper compared with the previous half-year and is at its lowest level in four years.

The real story is with companies. According to the State Statistical Office, gas for business users in the first half of 2026 rose by between 8 and 17.8 percent, depending on the category, compared with the second half of 2025. Roughly 85 percent of gas consumption in the country goes to the energy sector. So the gas that is getting more expensive is exactly the gas that goes into production - and from there into prices and into the competitiveness of domestic firms.

The official statistics are right when they say electricity is cheaper: 11.68 euro cents per kilowatt-hour against 28.32 in the EU. BMB-95 petrol is 1.48 euros, diesel 1.61, lower than in Germany, France, Greece and Serbia. But a comparison in euros is convenient for whoever is making it. The question that should be asked is a different one: why is gas getting cheaper in Europe but more expensive for Macedonian companies - and how much of that increase will end up in the price of what they produce?