A high performance and low cost single switch current fed energy recovery circuit (ERC) for an alternating current (AC) plasma display panel (PDP) is proposed. Since it is composed of only one power switch compared with the conventional circuit consisting of four power switches and two large energy recovery capacitors, the ERC features a simpler structure and lower cost. Furthermore, since all power switches can be switched under soft switching operating conditions, the proposed circuit has desirable merits such as increased reliability and low switching loss. Specifically, there are no serious voltage notches across the PDP with the aid of gas discharge current compensation, which can greatly reduce the current stress of all inverter switches, and provide those switches with the turn on timing margin. To confirm the validity of proposed circuit, its operation and performance were verified on a prototype for 7-inch test PDP.