On Wednesday, January 4th, the average electricity price for regulated-rate customers tied to the wholesale market is forecast to fall, marking a notable drop to 121.02 euros per megawatt hour. This shift represents a decrease of 16.4 percent from the prior day’s level of 144.73 euros per MWh, signaling improved affordability for households and small businesses that rely on regulated tariffs linked to global wholesale dynamics. The reduction is shaped by the interplay of supply conditions, demand patterns, and the weekly balancing of the electricity grid, all of which influence how wholesale prices translate into consumer charges under the regulated rate framework. As the market adjusts to evolving energy conditions, households can expect a lower base price on Wednesday, with subsequent daily variations still possible due to intraday fluctuations and the ongoing competitive pressures within the wholesale market.
For the auction-driven wholesale market, commonly referred to as the pool, the average price of electricity for Wednesday settles at 115.26 euros per MWh. Within the 24-hour cycle, the price floor is established at 80.23 euros during the early hours from 04:00 to 05:00, reflecting lower demand and favorable supply circumstances at that time of day. Conversely, the price peak is anticipated between 18:00 and 19:00, when demand typically climbs and system constraints can tighten, pushing prices up to 167.29 euros. These hourly bandings illustrate how renewable generation patterns, weather-related demand, and fuel prices interact to shape the daily price profile paid by participants in the pool, which in turn feeds into the broader pricing mechanisms for consumers connected to the wholesale market. The variability across hours highlights why some consumers experience different marginal costs within a single day, depending on the time of use and the structure of their specific electricity contracts.
Additionally, a supplementary charge known as the pool compensation is added to the price level for this Wednesday, directed to gas companies as part of the market’s balancing and liquidity arrangements. This adjustment amounts to 5.76 euros per megawatt-hour for consumers who benefit from the regulated rate (PVPC) or those under an indexed rate within the free market. The compensation is designed to address the costs associated with maintaining capacity and ensuring reliability in periods of price volatility, and it is applied in the final bill as a separate line item alongside the standard energy price. The combined effect of the pool price and the compensation yields the total effective price that regulated-rate consumers and those on indexed or extended-rate plans will observe on Wednesday, illustrating how wholesale-market dynamics translate into real-world charges for end users across the energy ecosystem.