The light once again exceeds 200 euros. This Tuesday it will stand at 203.68 euros per megawatt hour (MWh), which is the second highest value in history after the 216 euros MWh registered last Friday. It also represents an increase of more than 17 euros over the price of this Monday (186.4 euros). The maximum price in the hourly segment also marks a new historical record between 9:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m. when it will climb to 256.47 euros MWh. The daily minimum will be between four and five in the morning, when it marks 165 euros MWh.
The forecasts that reflect the futures markets maintain that prices will continue to be high due to the rise in the price of gas in the wholesale markets, despite the fact that the rain and wind in recent days suggested some relief due to the entry of cheaper energy in the energy mix. Both gas, oil and coal are in the upward process, which in turn triggers CO2 rights, also at record highs above 65 euros. Therefore, the inflationary trend in all types of energy affects the industry and threatens to pass through to consumer prices.
The fluctuations in the daily price affect consumers covered by the regulated tariff (PVPC), about 10.7 million, while those in the free market (about 17 million) and who negotiate the price with the trading companies are exempt. In this regard, the Ministry for Ecological Transition last week launched a project to renew the PVPC in order to improve the system. Consumers in this segment will also see the impact of the increase on their contracts later, usually referenced to a series of clauses.
On the other hand, the increase in prices has raised the weighting of energy consumption in the electricity bill and already represents around 50% of the amount, compared to the scarce third that it represented before the energy crisis. The rest of the receipt is made up of taxes (VAT and special electricity tax) and charges (extra-peninsular costs) and tolls.
The Facua-Consumidores en Acción association has demanded that the Government impose a minimum discount of 50% on the electricity bill subject to the semi-regulated PVPC rate for at least six months, to limit the effect of increases in energy prices on consumers. The association asks that this discount be applied to the majority of families, excluding only those with higher incomes, which would be borne by the main energy companies operating in Spain in proportion to their market shares.
Facua justifies this intervention in “the aggression of the electricity oligopoly on consumers” and in “the pulse it is maintaining with the Government.” It points out that the community directive allows an extensive interpretation that empowers the Government of Spain to determine that after a year-on-year increase well over 100% in the price per kilowatt hour before taxes, domestic consumers are subject to a temporary protection that cuts their bills. by 50%, a percentage that should be higher in the cases of families at risk of social exclusion.
Borrell: “It is not temporary”
In line with these high prices, the high representative for the Foreign and Security Policy of the European Union, Josep Borrell, in statements to four Spanish media collected by Efe, has stated that “the tension in gas prices is not a thing conjunctural ”. Borrell made the remarks in a telephone connection from Abu Dhabi, the intermediate stop of his first tour of the Persian Gulf, which began Thursday in Doha and ends today in Riyadh.
This “tension that exists in the energy markets and in particular in the gas markets” was the subject of conversation in some of his meetings with leaders of the Gulf, but Borrell pointed out that it was not part of his agenda during this visit to Qatar, that it is the world’s largest gas supplier.
Borrell pointed out that “there is no breach of contract that we have found on the part of Russia in the supply of gas.” Russia is the main gas supplier to Europe and it was recently revealed that the Russian gas giant Gazprom did not reserve additional gas transit capacities through Ukraine, which pushed the price of the gas futures market in Europe for October above the 900 dollars for every thousand cubic meters.