Madrid (EFE) months and a half its application has not been necessary due to the fall of the gas.
According to the data compiled by EFE, since June 15, 2022, electricity has marked an average price of 154.2 euros per megawatt hour (MWh) in the wholesale market, which represents a figure close to 15% lower in compared to the 182.2 euros/MWh that would have been reached if the gas cap had not been in place.
These figures show the effectiveness shown by this tool, agreed by the Governments of Spain and Portugal with the European Commission in the first half of 2022, when the Russian invasion of Ukraine was causing an unprecedented escalation in the energy markets.
Cheaper than in neighboring countries
In this sense, the cap on gas, which is only applied in Spain and Portugal due to the low levels of interconnection that make the Iberian peninsula an “energy island” within Europe, has allowed the price of light has been notably lower compared to neighboring countries.
Thus, since the gas cap came into force, Italy has registered an average price of 258.6 euros/MWh, 68% more than the Spanish price, with peaks of 740 euros/MWh last August.
France, affected by the prolonged stoppage of its nuclear generation park, has paid a light 48% more expensive than that of Spain, with an average of 227.5 euros/MWh, which has led it to exponentially increase its exchanges at through the Pyrenees.
For its part, Germany, which has traditionally been the European power with the lowest prices, has seen how its dependence on Russian fossil fuels has led it to pay for electricity at an average price of 202.9 euros/MWh, a 32 % more than Spain.
Little effect in recent months
Although in general terms the gas cap has had very positive effects when it comes to containing the price of electricity and sending signals to the energy markets, in recent months it has had a residual effect, since its application has not been necessary by the fall of the gas.
For this reason, the gas cap has not been applied for 104 days and adds 119 days since it came into force, since the price of this raw material on the Iberian Gas Market (Mibgas) has remained below the price at all times. maximum established by the Government, which started at 40 euros/MWh and currently stands at 58.3 euros/MWh.
The month in which the gas cap had the greatest effect was last December, when it reduced the price of electricity by nearly 35%, with an average of 134.6 euros/MWh compared to 207.6 euros/MWh they would have been paid for without this tool.
Despite the fact that it has not been necessary to activate the cap on gas during the last three and a half months, the Government and the European Commission agreed to extend it until December 31 with the aim of having a “safety net” for consumers in the event that its price rebounds in the coming months.
The light, at levels of two years ago
The drop in gas, in addition to making the Iberian mechanism unnecessary in the last 104 days, has allowed the wholesale electricity market to reach its lowest levels in the last two years.
Both in January and in April and May, the average price was around 70 euros/MWh, which is one of the lowest prices in the last 24 months, since mid-2021.
In addition, the current prices are far from the historical maximum of 308.6 euros/MWh that was reached in August 2022, the most expensive month to date, affected by the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the high temperatures of the previous summer.