Spain and Portugal today reached an agreement with the European Commission on a limit on the gas price. After the €30/MWh proposal, the European Commission presented a counter-proposal on April 26 that was accepted by both Spain and Portugal.
Spain and Portugal have agreed to a limit of €40/MWh (megawatt hour) for the price of gas. This limit will initially apply for a period of 12 months. After which time, the gas price will eventually amount to a maximum of €50/MWh.
Spain and Portugal have agreement on gas cap
The agreement between Spain, Portugal, and the European Commission was reached today, on Tuesday 26 April. Minister Teresa Ribera of Ecological Transition and the Portuguese Minister of the Environment presented this agreement after their meeting with the EC in Brussels.
A month ago, Spain and Portugal proposed to set the gas price at a maximum of €30/MWh. This was in order to reduce electricity costs. Therefore, the EC’s counter-proposal is, therefore, €20/MWh higher than the initial proposal.
Limit gas price should reduce electricity bill
The gas price is currently on average above €90/MWh. Gas prices have skyrocketed since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, causing electricity bills around the world to skyrocket. Setting a limit on the price of this commodity should also reduce electricity bills.
Spaniards can already benefit from lower energy bills in May
The Spanish minister expects in the coming days the formal agreement of Brussels to implement the proposal as soon as possible so that the reduction in electricity bills will be noticeable very quickly. Ribera hopes the Spanish Council of Ministers will agree to the EC’s counter-proposal so that consumers can benefit from lower electricity bills as early as May.
Also read: Spain and Portugal ask for gas cap agreement from EU
