Physical and Monetary Electricity Intensity (End User Expenditures in GDP Fractions). Electricity Prices in Russia, the United States and Other Countries

Abstract

The article analyzes interrelation between the gross domestic product (GDP) and electricity consumption in the economy of different countries. It is noted that the level of electricity consumption in a country in a particular year is determined by the GDP physical and monetary intensity. The GDP physical electrical intensity is defined as the ratio of net electricity consumption to the GDP volume. According to the economic theory, in performing international comparison, a GDP should be calculated in dollars according to purchasing power parity over the entire GDP basket ($PPP). The GDP monetary electricity intensity in a particular year is defined as the expenditures of electricity end users taking into account all taxes in GDP fractions. It is shown that among large and largest countries around the world, Russia in 2023 was in the 12th place in terms of physical electrical intensity and was close to the United States, and in monetary terms it was in the 27th place out of 48 large countries with populations of more than 9 million people, with developing or developed economies. The ratio of the GDP monetary to physical electrical intensity is equal to the price (expenditures of end users) for 1 kWh of electricity in $PPP. Accordingly, when comparing electricity prices internationally in different countries, they should be recalculated for $PPP. In 2023, the price for electricity in Russia was 1.6 times higher than it was in the United States, and significantly higher than that in the hydrocarbons and coal exporting countries, as well as in the largest industrial countries (China, South Korea, etc.).