chaos electricity pricesWith its historically high levels and skyrocketing volatility, it has caused the bankruptcy and disappearance of dozens of small power companies in recent years without the financial strength of large groups. In the last three years More than 80 independent marketers closed in the Spanish market, according to the official list of electricity marketers of the National Markets and Competition Commission (CNMC). A register showing a trail of companies registered in the last three years, but it is true that 150 companies were registered in that period and about 520 trading companies are currently operating.
The disappearance of electric companies It creates obvious disruption for its customers and also creates a multimillion-dollar impact on the electricity system’s own accounts.. When a marketing company goes bankrupt, its customers enter into a temporary contract of last resort with one of the major electric companies (Iberdrola, Endesa, Naturgy, Repsol and Totalenergies) those who offer regulated electricity tariffs determined by legislation to prevent them from being left without supply.
regulated electricity tariffThis price, called the voluntary price for small consumers (PVPC), is reserved for customers who have signed a contract for electricity below 10 kilowatts, that is, households and micro SMEs (after the last reform of the regulated tariff, this has been excluded from the scope of this tariff since January). PVPC (SMEs with 10 to 249 employees). Many large customers of electricity companies that have gone bankrupt and automatically signed a PVPC contract are not actually entitled to benefit from this regulated tariff because they have electricity under contract and have recorded consumption much higher than that of a household.
These big consumers Pay a 20% surcharge on your bills While using the tariff of last resort and until they contract with another free market company according to their profile. The increase in companies closing down during the energy crisis and increases in electricity market prices have led to a rapid increase in the amount collected for this concept in recent years.
Millionaire’s extra cost
According to the electrical system layout reports prepared by CNMC, Extra cost paid by big customers The number of people affected by the disappearance of marketing companies jumped rapidly around the world during the energy crisis, from 7.2 million in 2021. 63 million in 2022, up to 67 million in 2023. And the Government is now calculating this During this year, these additional fees will reach 54.6 million lira.According to the proposed electricity tariff order for 2024 prepared by the Ministry of Ecological Transition. In total, an extra 185 million euros over three years.
Customers who are not entitled to a regulated tariff (with more than 10 kilowatts of contracted power) and who fall under PVPC when uncorporated do not pay the same price as other users under such tariff, although current legislation states that: A 20% surcharge must be applied to all concepts organized. electricity bill.
Customers pay this 20% extra cost over normal PVPC prices to regulated new marketing companies.. The marketing company pays this amount to the distribution company (the company that manages the networks that reach the consumer’s door). The distributor cashes out these amounts as revenue from the electricity system to finance the regulated costs paid by all electricity customers.