at worst energy crisis Households implementing the regulated electricity tariff were most affected by the volatility and direct impact of the historical increase in prices. HE electricity price development of the regulated market, direct electricity and traders it buys and sells energy for consumption the next day, and it was he who marked maximums for months since the start of the crisis (although it currently has moderate prices mainly due to the impact of the cap on the price of gas. Iberian exception).
This record prices in the wholesale electricity market It has caused a huge flight of customers since the start of the energy crisis, which has meant that nearly two million homes have given up on regulated electricity tariffs. price-on-demand (PVPC) for small consumers and that large electricity companies (Iberdrola, Endesa, Naturgy, Repsol and Totalenergies) are forced to bid through specific marketers.
Portfolio of customers that signed regulated electricity tariff contracts in May 2021 (when price increases started to be recorded and the Government decided to take the first shock measures, such as the first VAT reduction on the purchase of lights), according to the records of the National Markets and Competition Commission (CNMC) 10, 52 million users.
Since then, the bleeding of customers has been accelerating since the onset of the energy crisis and PVPC has lost more than 1.85 million users in less than a year and a half. The number of households with regulated electricity tariffs decreased by 8.67 million in September last year, according to the latest official data provided so far by CNMC.
At the end of 2021, the regulated tariff dropped below 10 million customers, lost 9 million users last summer, and the collapse continues. HE Regulated market currently concentrating less than a third of all small consumers (30.9%) compared to an increase in the number of free market rate users of 19.32 million last September.
volatility vs stability
Small electricity consumers (usually households and some SMEs with less than 10 kilowatts of contracted electricity) can choose between contractually regulated electricity tariffs and free market offers – the amount of which depends on the evolution of the electricity price in the wholesale market. – Quantities freely determined by companies and usually have fixed prices.
This Half of customers (49.1%) admit that they do not know which electricity tariff they are committed to Almost a year later, and according to data from the most recent CNMC Household Panel, mid-2022, at home and almost 57% admit to being unaware of the differences between regulated rates and those in the free market. energy crisis year
Traditionally, PVPC has consistently been the cheapest offering until the crisis broke all price records in the market. right now, thanks Iberian exceptionAccording to the CNMC bid comparison tool, the regulated electricity tariff is once again cheaper than the vast majority of offers in the free market.
The Ministry of Energy Transition is finalizing the tariff reform designed to reduce its volatility by linking the formation of its price not only to the daily electricity market, but also to other relatively stable long-term electricity markets. A reform that is a commitment with Brussels as the equivalent of approving the implementation of the cap on gas. The Ecological Transition awaits mandatory reports from other ministries before. forward your proposal to the Council of State.
The electricity sector denounces the implied distortion of the Iberian exception for the functioning of the retail electricity market, as the millionaire cost of compensating gas plants to not generate losses due to the price ceiling is also paid by their customers. they contracted a rate that entitles them to a fixed price, which now becomes variable due to the additional cost charged to them.
It is precisely this variable extra cost (depending on the price of gas and how much gas plants are used) by the big utilities to pass on to customers at tariffs that agree on a fixed price, which the big utilities are putting pressure on as an unaffordable trade distortion. When the government removes it..
Gas ratios, in the opposite direction
The natural gas market is going through the opposite process of electricity. state aid to reduce natural gas bill millions of homes have shaken and disrupted the market. The subsidies serve to reduce the purchases of customers with regulated gas rates by 40% and have made a historic commercial comeback, with almost a million customers changing their contracts in recent months.
The four major energy groups with regulated tariffs (Naturgy, Endesa, Iberdrola and Totalenergies) added nearly 900,000 new customers to last resort retailers in just six months. Of the 1.58 million TUR customers found last September, By the end of February, 2.5 million had been reached at adjusted rates.According to data released by the Ministry of Ecological Transition.
Despite the massive transfer, the number of customers purchasing gas tariffs on the free market is still much higher, even though it is more expensive and has seen strong increases in the last winter months. Right now, As many as 5.7 million users remained in the free market. In other words, only 30% of all users have a strong surge protected rate, which is currently cheaper than any free market rate.