Average electricity price for regulated rate customers connected to the wholesale market is set to fall by 3.9 percent on Thursday. The provisional data from the Iberian Energy Market Operator, OMIE, collected by Europa Press, shows a drop to 253.77 euros per megawatt hour from the level seen on Wednesday.
After three days of increases this week, the electricity price is trimming the recent uptrend and moving lower on Thursday. The final price reflects the combination of the wholesale market auction results and the compensation that customers pay to gas plants as part of the Iberian exemption designed to limit gas costs for electricity generation.
In the Thursday auction, the average price in the wholesale market, commonly known as the pool, stood at 147.23 euros per MWh. The price structure includes a maximum around 01:00 to 02:00 of 170 euros per MWh, with a minimum of 124.99 euros per MWh forecast for the 19:00 to 20:00 hour window.
To this pool price, a compensation of 106.54 euros per MWh is added, which must be paid to the gas companies regardless of whether they are serving regulated PVPC customers or operating within the free market. Within the free market, pricing remains indexed to this framework.
Electricity prices in Spain without the Iberian exemption would average about 308.24 euros per MWh, an amount roughly 54.47 euros per MWh higher than the regulated rate compensation for customers. On average, households and businesses benefiting from the measure will see about 17.6 percent savings attributed to this mechanism.
The Iberian mechanism, which began on 15 June, caps the gas price for electricity generation at an average of 48.8 euros per MWh for twelve months. This cap is designed to provide relief during the next winter when energy costs are typically higher.
Specifically, the Iberian exemption outlines a path for natural gas used in electricity generation, with an initial increase of 40 euros per MWh in the first six months, followed by a gradual rise of five euros per MWh each month until the measure ends.