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Competition rules out opening a file due to the strong increase in electricity in January

The National Commission of Markets and Competition (CNMC) rules out opening a file to investigate in more depth the sharp rise in the price of electricity registered last January. The supervisor has analyzed during the last weeks the causes behind the increase in the cost of energy and has concluded that it was a “perfect storm” caused by the increase in demand left by the cold wave. the lower production with renewable energy and the international increase in gas prices.

The agency thus breaks with the script written the last times that a similar price increase occurred. At that time, the CNMC decided to open a file to request more information from the companies involved and, finally, to propose a sanction for conduct contrary to free competition.

Among the causes cited by Fernández, in line with those published by the Ministry of Ecological Transition, the price increase was linked to restrictions in the gas market in Spain due to the increase in its price in Asian markets and the system of setting prices by opportunity. “Many LNG ships that were scheduled to unload in Spain went to Asia because there the price was sky high, gas did not arrive through the Medgaz pipeline either, we had no water, wind, sun … The backup technology it was the gas, which was triggered, “he explained.

“Every time there is a problem like Filomena’s, we are going to have a significant change in prices. It was really the perfect storm,” explained the president, Cani Fernández, during an appearance held this Wednesday in the Congress of Deputies.

Fernández has also remarked that last Saturday the price of the megawatt-hour sank this last weekend to 1.42 euros and has insisted that the supervisor continues to monitor the behavior of the market in an ordinary way. detects any distortion. Despite these reductions, the average price of electricity during the month of January was 60 euros, 40% higher than the same month the previous year.

The president of the CNMC has also taken advantage of her parliamentary intervention to demand more resources for the supervisor, since the lack of budget and human resources ends up limiting her autonomy. It asks for an operating model similar to that of the Bank of Spain. “The full independence of the CNMC requires, in addition to its legal and institutional independence, that it be functional and imply organizational and management autonomy. Unfortunately, the CNMC does not enjoy this degree of autonomy, unlike other institutions, such as the Bank of Spain and the CNMV, “he lamented.

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