Electricity Prices In Spain Soar To Record High

Electricity prices in Spain have soared to new heights, breaking all previous records.

With electricity wholesale prices continuing to climb, households can expect to see a 43 per cent increase in their bills compared to this time last year.

Today, Thursday, August 26, sees a new record high in the price of electricity that now stands at 122.76 euros per megawatt-hour (MWh). This is a full 5 euros higher than the previous maximum which was recorded a mere 13 days ago.

To help put these figures into perspective, the latest tariff stands at almost three times higher than the 46.25 euros it was on the same date last year.

The consumers’ association Facua has estimated that average household bills for the first half of August this year will be 43.7 per cent higher than for the same period in 2020. This means that for the whole of August, the average monthly bill will come to over 91 euros as opposed to 63.77 euros last year.

This is regardless of the VAT rate on electricity being provisionally reduced from 21 per cent to 10 per cent until December (only for contracted powers of less than 10 kW) and for the third quarter has suspended the tax on electricity generation (7%) paid by the suppliers.

The most expensive time to use your electricity, according to a forecast by Red Eléctrica, is between 04:00 and 05:00 hours with the cost of 119.95 euros/MWh and 9:00 and 10:00 pm where the price is 129.81 euros/MWh.

July 2021 was considered to have been the most expensive month for electricity on record, however, it has been far exceeded by today’s hike.

During the pandemic, the cost of electricity fell considerably due to reduced energy demand.

However, once the lockdown ended and people returned to a certain degree of normality, the demand for electricity has seen a big increase once again in 2021.

The summer heatwaves where temperatures reached in excess of 45c have also played a part in increasing demand.

Coalition partner Podemos has called on the government to issue a new decree to place an immediate ceiling on power prices, however, this was rejected by PSOE which maintains that Spain should respect European market rules for electricity.

In an interview, Teresa Ribera, Minister for the Ecological Transition said, “To say that we can solve this with a decree generates false hopes.

“Look what is happening in the rest of Europe, it is not a problem that is specific to Spain.”

However, Ribera has called on Brussels to change the rules on how prices are set within the European Union, which she says are dictated by the price of fossil fuels.

The minister told news radio Cadena Ser that she wrote to the European Commission recently to request the changes, however, Brussels asserted that they had no intention of introducing any changes.

Ribera, however, has raised the idea of creating a public company to manage Spain’s hydroelectric plants, a measure long demanded by Podemos to replace major power firms which it accuses of making huge profits on the backs of consumers.

Source

http://www.surinenglish.com/national/202108/26/latest-electricity-price-hike-20210826105426.html
https://murciatoday.com/cost-of-electricity-in-spain-reaches-yet-another-record-high_1638196-a.html
https://www.malagahoy.es/economia/precio-euros-jueves-marca-record_0_1604840182.html
https://www.thelocal.es/20210820/spains-government-feels-heat-over-sky-high-electricity-prices/