The average price of electricity for regulated rate customers linked to the wholesale market will rise 3.69% tomorrow, Wednesday, compared to this Tuesday, to 476.39 euros per megawatt hour (MWh), which represents a new maximum since that the Iberian exception entered into force on June 15.
This Wednesday's price would be the second highest in history for regulated rate customers linked to the wholesale market, only behind the record of 544.98 euros/MWh registered on March 8, before the entry into force of the gas cap.
In the auction, the average price of electricity in the wholesale market, the so-called 'pool', will stand this Wednesday at 187.30 euros/MWh. The maximum price will be registered between 00:00 and 01:00 hours, with 227.82 euros/MWh, while the minimum for the day, of 156.25 euros/MWh, will occur between 16:00 and 17:00.
To this price of the 'pool' is added the compensation of 289.09 euros/MWh to the gas companies that has to be paid by the consumers who benefit from the measure, the consumers of the regulated tariff (PVPC) or those who, despite being in the free market, they have an indexed rate.
This spiral of high electricity prices that has occurred over the last week has been driven by the price of natural gas, which is at record levels, mainly due to Gazprom's announcement to cut from 31 August and for three days pumping gas to Germany.
In this context, the French energy supply company Engie has reported that Gazprom has reduced its gas supply since Tuesday, which had already fallen substantially since the start of the war in Ukraine due to disagreement between the parties in the application of some contracts.
In addition, the price of gas for the electricity market in Spain (which Mibgas offers daily) for August 31 stands at 230 euros/MWh, compared to 80 euros on June 15 (when the 'Iberian exception' began to apply ). That is, it has increased by 187.99% since then.
In the absence of the 'Iberian exception' mechanism to cap the price of gas for electricity generation, the price of electricity in Spain would be on average around 533.46 euros/MWh, which is around 57.07 euros/MWh more than with the compensation for customers of the regulated rate, who will thus pay 10.7% less on average.
The electricity market prices for this Wednesday in the rest of the European countries will also mark especially high levels. Thus, in the case of France it is above 650 euros/MWh, while in Germany it will be more than 600 euros/MWh. In Belgium they will exceed 516 euros/MWh, in the Netherlands 534 and in Austria and Switzerland they are close to 700 (673.28 euros/MWh and 682.47 euros/MWh, respectively).
The 'Iberian mechanism', which came into force on June 15, limits the price of gas for electricity generation to an average of 48.8 euros per MWh over a period of twelve months, thus covering the coming winter, a period in which which energy prices are more expensive.
Specifically, the 'Iberian exception' sets a path for natural gas for electricity generation at a price of 40 euros/MWh in the initial six months, and subsequently, a monthly increase of five euros/MWh until the end of the measure .
The Government estimates that the 'Iberian exception' has meant a saving of 1,383 million euros for Spanish consumers in its first two months of validity. This figure represents a saving of 22 million euros per day for Spanish society since the entry into force of the mechanism.
