Wednesday, March 15, 2023
After several days with strong increases, the price of electricity today drops significantly and will alleviate the electricity bill for families and companies. The reduction is 34% on the previous day to place the cost per megawatt hour on average at 87.63 for regulated rate customers linked to the wholesale market according to the data communicated by the Iberian Energy Market Operator (OMIE).
Despite this decline today, prices continue in high ranges, which is why energy saving experts recommend measures to consumers such as not having the devices connected while they are not being used or taking short showers. They also advise looking at the cheapest hours to start up the appliances, especially the five that consume the most electricity.
The war in Ukraine and the tensions between the European Union and Russia are among the main reasons for this increase, due to the relationship in the markets between gas and electricity prices. However, weather conditions are favoring renewable energies to become more important and contribute to alleviating electricity prices.
Thus, for example, Spain is experiencing record figures in terms of the contribution of wind and solar energy these weeks. In addition, the abundant rains that fell throughout the peninsula in December helped fill the reservoirs and favor hydroelectric generation. Thus, according to Red Eléctrica, so far this year the vast majority of days green energy has outperformed the rest, although this Wednesday it dropped to 47% of that generated during the day.
Measures to avoid wrong company changes
This Wednesday it became known precisely that the National Commission for Markets and Competition has sanctioned companies such as Narugy Iberia, Endesa Energía, HolaLuz Clidom and Iberdrola Clientes to prevent their clients from being affected by marketing changes carried out in an erroneous way.
Claims for changes in companies without the consent of the consumer have grown by 360% in the last year and the regulator has wanted to avoid further problems. In addition, from now on, in the event of a supply cut request, they must contact the requesting consumer, these contacts must be accredited to the regulator if necessary.
Price of electricity today by the hour
The electricity tariff on the wholesale market directly influences the final cost that the consumer has to pay to start up their household appliances hour by hour and today the cheapest ones are concentrated in the period from two to four in the afternoon, with a cost of only 29.59 euros/MWh. On the other hand, the most expensive hour is from 7 to 8 in the morning, with 132 euros/Mhw.
Tips to save energy at home
In all homes we have large electrical consumption appliances. According to a study by the OCU, the household appliances that require the most energy are, in this order: dryer, dishwasher, refrigerator, washing machine and television. What consumers can do is make the most of the capacity of the refrigerators and adjust the thermostat between 4º and 6º, and above all avoid that the door remains open for too long. When choosing its location, it is very important that the fridge is located away from the oven, a radiator or a sunny window or balcony. Other tips that serve to save on the electricity bill are not leaving mobile chargers or headphones connected for longer than necessary, turning off devices that are not being used, not leaving the television on if it is not being watched, etc.