What happens in Spain to the prices of electricity bills?
Due to the sharp rise in electricity prices, Spain has launched an investigation into companies in the sector. Here are the details
The Spanish government has asked the supervisory authority to investigate the possible anti-competitive behavior of companies in the electricity sector. This was announced today by the Minister of Economy Nadia Calviño in an interview with the local radio Cadena SER .
POSSIBLE INTERVENTIONS TO LOWER BILLS
Electricity prices in Spain have risen significantly in recent weeks, mainly due to increases in the market for carbon allowances.
In his radio speech, Calviño added that the government is considering the need to take measures to reduce the cost of electricity bills "in the short term". However, he did not specify how Madrid could intervene, and whether it will intervene on the tax side or not.
REDUCTION OF ELECTRICITY TAXES
The Spanish newspaper El País wrote that yesterday the Minister of Ecological Transition, Teresa Ribera, opened the possibility of a temporary reduction in the taxation on electricity, suspending some taxes with the aim of bringing down the costs of bills.
HOW MUCH ELECTRICITY COST IN SPAIN
Meanwhile, in recent days the average price of electricity on the wholesale market in Spain has reached very high levels, of around 93 euros per megawatt hour. To find daily prices higher than these you have to go back to January 8th, during the Filomena storm (94.9 euros per MWh), and to January 11th 2002 (103.7 euros).
THE NEW TIME-SLOT REGIME
The June increase coincided with the entry into force of the new tariff regime on three time bands. However, Minister Calviño defended the system for its "logic" and its "usefulness", because it allows citizens to know at what time of day electricity is more or less cheap.
THE CAUSES OF THE INCREASE IN PRICES
The increase in the price of electricity in Spain is mainly linked to the higher cost of carbon quotas, which so far exceeded 51 euros per ton in June: double compared to a year ago.
Higher carbon quotas have consequently made energy generation from combined cycle gas plants more expensive.
Added to this is a scarce output from renewable sources and nuclear power (some plants are closed for maintenance) and, on the demand side, an increase in the demand for electricity for cooling, given the high temperatures.
WHO ARE THE SPANISH ELECTRIC SUPPLIERS
The electricity distribution market in Spain is divided between five major operators, known precisely as Las Grandes : they are Endesa (the largest company in the sector, of the Enel group), Iberdrola , EDP / HC, Unión Fenosa and Viesgo.
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/energia/spagna-bollette-elettricita-abusi-indagine/ on Thu, 17 Jun 2021 13:35:58 +0000.