The government put a system in place two years ago, in the middle of the energy crisis. avoiding the potential extraordinary benefits of electricity and preventing some companies from taking advantage of the historic rise in energy prices to increase their revenues. spain set ceiling price for electricity sales contracts and it did so earlier and more restrictively than other countries in the European Union, with price limits much lower than those that Brussels finally approved for all member states.
The executive put an end to this mechanismIts validity expired on December 31 and its extension was not foreseen in the omnibus decree on anti-crisis measures approved by the Council of Ministers this Wednesday. The purpose of the measure, which came into force in Spain in October 2021, was to prevent energy companies from selling the electricity they produce using some of the nuclear, hydroelectric and renewable energy at exorbitant prices determined by the wholesale market. Prices have skyrocketed due to the high price of natural gas and CO₂ emission rights, costs that these technologies do not actually support.
The government has since mandated nuclear, hydro and renewable energy sources. earn extra income It is achieved through sales contracts signed above the ceiling price set at 67 Euros per megawatt hour (MWh) to avoid unexpected profits. The executive understands this The situation in energy markets has normalizedMaking it difficult to justify the extension of the sales price ceiling, which is considered an exceptional and temporary measure. Electricity producing companies will now be able to sell their energy at the price they think without any upper limit.
More than 800 million returns
According to this newspaper, electricity companies have already had to return excess revenues totaling 812.7 million euros to the system. The prediction of the sector is as follows: Mandatory cuts by the end of the year will finally amount to around 1,000 million euros for a total validity period of more than two years.
The National Markets and Competition Commission (CNMC), which is tasked with reconciling costs and expenses in the sector, announced that mandatory cuts in revenue between October and December 2021 reached 131.8 million euros, for a total of 370.4 million. 2022.
Organism He did not disclose the refund amount this is year-round, because it is only made public when settlements are closed all year round. This year, companies continued to inject extra revenue into the electricity system until it reached 310.5 million between January and July alone, as confirmed by many sources with direct knowledge of the agreements formalized so far in the electricity sector.
The enforcement introduced the ceiling price application for electricity sales contracts in October 2021, and this revising and expanding for various reasons. The latest extension was valid until the end of 2023, like other exceptional measures to control electricity, gas, fuel or food prices. The executive has extended some of these social shield measures for the coming months or next year, depending on the situation. However, it does not prolong the decrease (undo) from the excess income of some power plants.
Last October the Twenty-Seven agreed on a common position on electricity sector measures supporting the possibility of countries continuing until June 2024, but this support was not sustained in the text finally agreed with the European Commission and the European Commission. Parliament. Spain is applying Limit of 67 Euros per MWh For electricity contracts, however, a maximum price of 180 euros is envisaged as a general framework in the EU.