The price of electricity reached a new high of €436.25/MWh in Spain on Wednesday since the ‘Iberian exception’. The average electricity price for customers with a regulated tariff who are connected to the wholesale market is Wednesday no less than 19.4% higher than that of Tuesday.
This means a new maximum has been reached since the gas limit came into force, according to provisional data from the Operator of the Iberian Energy Market (OMIE) collected by Spanish newspaper Europa Press. Since the mechanism came into force in mid-June. This is the second consecutive record after Tuesday’s €365.33/MWh .
At auction, the average electricity price in the wholesale market (the so-called ‘pool’) for Wednesday has been set at €186.95/MWh. The maximum price will be between 10.00 pm and 11.00 pm, at €236.79/MWh. Meanwhile the minimum for the day, €140.07/MWh, will be between 5.00 pm and 16.00 pm.
To this pool price must be added the compensation of €249.3/MWh to the gas companies. This must be paid by the consumers benefiting from the measure, those with the regulated tariff (PVPC) or those who, although operating in the free market, have an indexed tariff.
Iberian mechanism
The ‘Iberian mechanism’, came into force on 15 June. It limits the price of gas for electricity generation to an average of €48.8/MWh over a 12-month period. Furthermore, it will cover the coming winter, a period when energy prices are more expensive.
Specifically, the ‘Iberian exception’ sets out a path for natural gas for electricity generation at a price of €40/MWh in the first six months. After which time, a monthly increase of €5/MWh is added until the end of the measure.
The government’s third vice-president and minister of Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge, Teresa Ribera, estimated last week that the ‘Iberian Exception’ has already saved Spanish consumers €1,383 million in the two months it has been in force. This equates to savings of €22 million per day for Spanish society. Without the mechanism of the ‘Iberian exception’, the electricity price in Spain for customers with a regulated tariff would be, on average, about €502.11/MWh. This is around €65.86/MWh more than without the compensation. Therefore, now they pay on average 15% less.
Sky-high electricity prices in other European countries
In other European countries too, the market prices for electricity reached record heights on Wednesday. In the case of France they are above €645/MWh, in Germany over €624/MWh and in Belgium above €611/MWh.
Also read: Electricity prices still high despite Iberian Exception
