The energy crisis that emerged after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the rise in gas prices, the increase in electricity bills, and the measures taken by the Government to reduce the impact of all these on families led consumers to act in search. at the best prices for your pockets. For now, data from the National Markets and Competition Commission (CNMC) and from the energy companies themselves, dual trend. In the electricity bill, customers accelerate their exit from the regulated tariff and turn to the free market; The opposite is true when it comes to gas: more and more customers are turning their backs on the free market and turning to the subsidized rate. In either case, the number of customers in the free market doubles or triples the number of customers covered by the regulated rate.
Lightweight: the escape of a million customers from the regulated market
The energy crisis marked by the Russian invasion of Ukraine has doubled the number of customers fleeing the regulated electricity tariff, with 450,000 users switching to another flight between June and December 2021. more than a million in the next six months, according to official data released by the National Markets and Competition Commission (CNMC). In one year, the market share of PVPC rate (Voluntary Price for Small Consumers) increased from 40% to 30% of consumers. At the end of July, the number of regulated rate customers dropped to: 8.8 millionas the free market climbs to the historic maximum 19 million.
Traditionally, the free market started at a higher price because PVPC and adds a margin. However, it offers the consumer stability during a significant part of the current energy crisis, which protects them from the rapidly rising prices of the regulated tariff piling up daily. After the hike in electricity prices in 2021 springregulated customers paid 20% more on average, while free marketers mostly benefited from artificially lowered prices as they had not yet internalized the increase in the market and also benefited from the discount. taxes and government-regulated expenses.
Hence the regulated market escape, a trend that seems to continue into the second half of 2022, according to the records included in the quarterly results of the two main energy companies between June and September. In the case of Endesa, the company reached 602,000 users in this market by the ninth month of the year, of which 139,000 occurred in the third quarter. Duration Iberdrola, Of the 395,000 customers (including gas customers) who switched to the free market in the regulated market, about 94,000 left during the summer.
How are electricity prices changing?
Despite the fact that the development of the PVPC rate has become more advantageous for the customer than the free market, it seems that consumers persistently avoid the regulated electricity bill: the median bill of the regulated rate accumulated from 2022 to October. According to data from Caixabank Research, based on anonymized data from customers, there was an increase of 14% (to €58), while that of the free market increased 20% (to €80).
Gas: regulated market gains half a million customers
In recent months, fueled by state aid, major energy groups have added at least 549,000 new customers to regulated gas tariff marketers, according to internal data from companies El Periódico de España has access to from Iberia. Press group.
Naturgy, the main operator of the Spanish gas market, the customer portfolio of the retailer of last resort, with 190,000 customers in the last part of the year. Iberdrola nearly tripled its household volume at a regulated rate, from 111,000 customers at the end of September to a total of 300,000 users at the end of the year. Endesa increased its customers with regulated gas tariffs, with 63,000 new registrations realized in just two months in October and November, pending December data. Totalenergies has confirmed that the last resort retailer has doubled its customers after adding 107,000 new contracts last year; this is the vast majority since aid began in October.
At year’s end, close to two million homes had regulated gas rates, more than 30% above the volume available when the Executive activated the relief scheme last October. However, free market rates continue to be the majority option, and around 6 million customers still use them.
How are gasoline prices developing?
The recent attractiveness of the differently regulated tariffs (the so-called last resort tariffs, TUR) is related to the Government’s plan of measures introduced in October, which in practice includes direct subsidies to the invoices of these customers. charging big energy. A crisis prevention shield of 3,000 million, which includes continuing to limit by law increases in regulated gas tariffs for 1.5 million customers through 2023, as well as the creation of a new type of discounted rate for 1.7 million homes with central heating in the Neighborhood community.