The strong winds that have been registered in the last hours have caused the average price of electricity to remain at 1.42 euros per megawatt hour (MWh), representing a 98.5% drop from the peak of 94.99 euros reached just three weeks ago.
According to the Operator of the Iberian Electricity Market (OMIE), the average price of electricity on Saturday in the wholesale market was already 4.19 euros per MWh, a value that, like today, contrasts with the 121.24 euros registered on January 9, in the middle of the snow storm Filomena.
This drop in the price of electricity will directly benefit consumers covered by the regulated tariff or Voluntary Price for the Small Consumer (PVPC), although it only represents 35% of the cost of the invoice.
Those who are in the free market have rates set by the companies and they do not vary according to these ups and downs in the wholesale market.
Although, in general, the average bill paid by those who have the regulated tariff is almost 30% lower than that of those who are in the free market, despite having a higher consumption (according to calculations by the National Commission of Markets and Competition, CNMC), only 35% of the population has accepted the PVPC.
If in the first half of January the passage of Filomena and the cold wave which came later, they raised demand to maximums and strongly raised electricity prices, the month ends at a minimum, thanks to the high generation of wind energy (particularly cheap) to the point of being able to cover much of the demand.
Thus, while on January 8, in a few hours, 18 cents of euros were paid per kilowatt consumed, today 3 cents will be paid, according to the price that was marked on Saturday in the matching in the daily market that sets the prices for the following day. The lowest section was between 3 in the morning and 9 in the morning.
96.6% FALL IN JANUARY
With the decline achieved this weekend, the price of the light has fallen 96.6% compared to the 42.51 euros average price with which 2021 started.
Although prices always fall during the weekend, as demand is lower due to less economic activity than on weekdays, this time the strong winds registered in much of the country are particularly heavy.
In the first half of this month, the average price in the wholesale market, which closed 2020 with the lowest price in 17 years (33.97 euros / MWh), reached 72 euros / MWh, due to the increase demand and the price of gas, which became more expensive due to an exceptional cold in Asia that increased consumption there and caused gas ships to be diverted to those areas.
The storm Filomena raised electricity demand in Spain by 7% in the first half of this month of January, when the second highest price of electricity in history was reached on January 8, 94.99 euros / megawatt hour (MWh), just below the 103.76 euros on January 11, 2002.
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