Market shares of largest gas and electricity producers in EU decreasing -- Eurostat

BRUSSELS, March 14 (KUNA) -- The market shares of the largest gas and electricity producers in the European Union have been decreasing in most countries since 2013, Eurostat, the EU?'s statistical office, reported Tuesday. For natural gas import and production, market share of largest company decreased in 14 EU countries in 2021. For natural gas imports and production, the largest market share was 100% in Estonia, Malta, and Sweden, where only one entity dominated national production and imports. The largest natural gas import and production company had the lowest level of market penetration in Ireland (22%) and Czechia (23%). On a year-to-year basis, from 2020 to 2021, the largest market share decrease was reported in Croatia (45%) and in Czechia (38%). The number of main companies that import or produce natural gas for the local market increased from 5 to 6 in Czechia and from 3 to 5 in Croatia. In 2021, the gross available energy from natural gas was only 2.3% of the total in Sweden. Malta is a small market, so it is expected that one entity could cover market needs, it said. In 2021, the market share of the largest electricity producer in the electricity market varied across EU countries. The highest share was recorded in Cyprus (88%), followed by France (79%), Croatia (76%) and Estonia (64%). A market share indicator describes how much energy the largest company of the network serves in one market. Larger market shares indicate a monopolistic market, noted Eurostat. (end) nk.rk