An operating room in a file image. /
The contract for the supply during 2022 has once again been deserted despite amounting to 43 million, 18 more than in the previous offer
The Murcian Health Service (SMS) had to allocate 23.1 million euros last year to pay the electricity bill, which is practically double what was disbursed in 2020 – when the cost was 11.5 million –, and 65% more than what was paid in 2019. This last comparison is the closest when it comes to analyzing the impact of the rise in electricity prices on the health system, since energy consumption during the year of The outbreak of the pandemic was unusually low in hospitals and health centers, due to the halt in activity during the first wave.
In 2019, with an activity more comparable to that of 2021, spending on electricity amounted to 14 million euros, nine less than those disbursed last year. Everything indicates, furthermore, that the bill will continue to get fatter, given the current international context, with the war in Ukraine and the increase in gas prices.
The truth is that the Murcian Health Service is finding it very difficult to find an electric company with which to close the contract for the supply during 2022. The contest, approved by the Governing Council at the end of last September, has been deserted despite the fact that the base budget for the tender amounted to 43 million, 18 million more than that stipulated in a previous contract to which no company had submitted, and which already represented an increase with respect to the awards of previous years, when the price was at 18.8 million.
Of the 14 million disbursed in 2019, an invoice of 23.1 million was passed last year
Different options
Given this circumstance, the SMS is “studying different options,” according to sources from this department. At the moment, the electricity cost is being paid “against invoice” to Endesa, the current supplier.
The unstoppable growth in the cost of electricity especially affects the health system, where massive consumption is carried out, with dozens of operating rooms and technological equipment in health centers and hospitals.
At the beginning of March of last year, the megawatt hour was paid, in the wholesale market, at 42.24 euros. Today they will reach 442.54, according to the Iberian Energy Market Operator (OMIE).
In September, the spokesperson for the regional government, Valle Miguélez, already warned of the difficulties of the SMS to close the electricity contract, when he presented the contest that has finally been deserted. The situation, she stressed, was “serious”, with a “wild rise” that affected administrations, companies and individuals.
The central government announced shock measures to try to contain the escalation, with the aim of reducing the bill by 22%. However, the crisis generated by the war in Ukraine only augurs further increases.
Leave a Reply