The Spanish natural gas market includes roughly eight million supply points, with about three million of them covered by the last-resort tariff, known as TUR. Those three million customers will see their October bill rise by roughly 7% to 13% compared with September, according to Selectra, a firm that specializes in comparing energy tariffs. The rise is tied to the onset of winter, which increases the cost of the gas itself and drives the tariff up during the final quarterly review of the year.
The regulated gas tariff, which is overseen by the government, is reviewed on January 1, April 1, July 1, and October 1 each year. The adjustment depends on whether international gas prices move up or down by 2% relative to the current tariff level. In the latest quarter, even though the cost of gas and Brent crude was lower than in the previous quarter, the seasonal gas factor has been added to the calculation. This seasonal component increases the total cost of the energy by about 45%, bringing the charge to 0.0322 euros per kilowatt-hour (kWh).
According to Selectra, the seasonal gas concept is used in winter when demand is expected to rise and prices to surge. To prevent a sharp jump, this factor acts as a kind of safeguard, in case gas prices spike. It is included only in the first and last quarters of the year, while in the other quarters its weight is zero.
And this is why TUR is set to rise by an average of about 9.5% starting this Tuesday, as reported in the Official State Bulletin published last Saturday. Specifically, TUR 1, which applies to customers using up to 5,000 kWh, shifts from a fixed monthly price of 3.85 euros to 3.26 euros, and the consumption rate moves from 0.0439 euros per kWh to 0.051158 euros per kWh. TUR 2, for those consuming up to 15,000 kWh, goes from 7.12 euros per month to 5.66 euros per month, while the consumption price changes from 0.0423 euros per kWh to 0.05011 euros per kWh.
This translates into a bill that is between 7% and 13% higher in October, November, and December than in the preceding three months. For example, with an average consumption of 3,000 kWh, plus the fixed charge, meter, taxes, and the 21% VAT, annual costs would rise from about 238 euros to 256 euros; while with an average consumption of 8,000 kWh, annual costs would go from about 537 euros to 605 euros.
The revision also affects the neighborhood TUR, a tariff created during the energy crisis to align households with individual consumers (TUR 4 for users consuming more than 50,000 kWh). It moves from 42.70 euros per month to 36.25 euros per month, with a consumption price changing from 0.04095 euros per kWh to 0.04700 euros per kWh. This implies an increase of between 14.7% and 19.3%, translating into a bill that is about 12% higher, rising from 8,652 euros to 9,656 euros.
And what about the free market tariff?
The remaining five million users who do not fall under a regulated tariff have a price agreed directly with their supplier, which varies by case but is typically higher than the government-regulated rate since it serves as a reference point. And lacking more recent data, the latest CNMC report on the gas contracts for the last quarter of 2021 noted that free-market gas tariffs tend to be roughly twice as expensive as the regulated ones.
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