The price of electricity today for customers with a regulated rate will rise by 19.3%. Check the hourly price of electricity in detail for this Friday, December 9
The price of electricity will register today, Friday, December 9, a significant rise of 19.3%, which will raise electricity bills for families and companies above 200 euros per megawatt. This Friday, December 9, the rise in energy costs remains at high levels and continues to force families to look at the cheapest hours to start up the appliances with the highest energy consumption. The cost of electricity in the wholesale market will be 211.69 euros per megawatt hour (MWh). In the auction, the average price of light in the wholesale market -the so-called ‘pool’- stands for this Friday at 144.39 euros/MWh
With these high electricity prices, it is very interesting for families to know what time to start up the appliances with the highest consumption. In this sense, energy saving experts recall that there are five household appliances that generate the most consumption: the dryer, the dishwasher, the refrigerator, the washing machine and the television. Thus, today, Friday, the cost of electricity in the wholesale market is at maximum levels, once again clearly exceeding 200 euros per MWh on average before applying compensation to gas companies, as published today by the Iberian Market Operator for Energy (OMIE).
booming prices
Thus, after several weeks with contained prices compared to the previous months, December is being more demanding and we are approaching the prices we had in spring and summer. The experts remain vigilant to one of the great factors that affect the cost of electricity, which is the price of gas. At the gates of winter and with the war in Ukraine with no sign of ending, it is a key factor despite the efforts of European countries to diversify their suppliers.
In the absence of the ‘Iberian exception’ mechanism to cap the price of gas for electricity generation, the price of electricity in Spain would be around 303.84 euros/MWh on average, which is 92 euros/MWh more than with compensation for regulated rate customers, who will thus pay 30.33% less on average.
These more contained prices than in previous weeks have been due to the confluence of several factors: the lower demand for electricity -due to the high temperatures these days-, a greater contribution from renewable plants to the electricity ‘mix’ without the need to pull both from the combined cycle gas plants and the greater contribution from renewable energies, especially wind power.
Faced with this situation, the Government of Spain decreed a series of energy aids for families with the aim of benefiting households. The good CPI figures invite optimism. “The price curve is bending”, according to sources from the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation, citing measures such as the Iberian mechanism, the public transport discount or the reduction of taxes on the gas and electricity bill , as well as the drop in energy prices in international markets.
Natural gas, guilty of the rise in electricity
In this context, the president of the Electricity Market Operator (OMEL), Carmen Becerril, has indicated that the current energy context “is dominated by a stressful situation and full of uncertainties”, and has predicted that the return of some electricity prices around 50 euros per megawatt/hour (MWh) is “a bit far”.
Becerril considers that electricity market futures predict electricity prices of more than 200 euros/MWh for 2023, 150 euros/MWh for 2024, 91 euros/MWh for 2025 and 75 euros/MWh for 2026, compared to the reference price that had been around 50 euros/MWh in the last 25 years. He also added that by 2032 the future price is around 52.61 euros / MWh, so “50 euros / MWh are a bit far away,” he said.
The culprit behind this dynamic, according to the president of OMEL, is natural gas, with a skyrocketing price compared to the reference of 20 euros/MWh, which had been normal. “Today it doesn’t exist and we don’t know when we’re going to break even again,” she warned.
Price of light today Friday for hours
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.
Price of electricity today Friday December 8, hour by hour
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cheapest hour
from 03:00 to 04:00 hours, with 110 euros/MWh. -
most expensive hour
from 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., with 170.42 euros/MWh.
Thus, the maximum price will be registered between 7:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m., with 170.42 euros/MWh, while the minimum for the day, of 110 euros/MWh, will be between 03:00 and 04:00, according to the data. provisions of the Iberian Energy Market Operator (OMIE).
With these records in mind, today, December 8, it is once again key to know what time the price of electricity is the cheapest.
Iberian exception to contain the price of light
The Iberian mechanism, which entered into force on June 15, limits the price of gas for electricity generation to an average of 48.8 euros per MWh for a period of twelve months, thus covering the coming winter, a period in which energy prices are more expensive. Specifically, the ‘Iberian exception’ sets a path for natural gas for electricity generation at a price of 40 euros/MWh. in the initial six months, and thereafter, a monthly increase of five euros/MWh. until the end of the measure.
The prices of the ‘pool’ have a direct impact on the regulated tariff -the so-called PVPC-, to which almost 11 million consumers in the country are covered, and serve as a reference for the other 17 million who have contracted their supply in the free market .
For this reason, one more day the price of electricity will vary significantly from hour to hour throughout the day, depending on the tolls and charges established in each of the hourly bands of the electricity tariff. In fact, the National Commission for Markets and Competition (CNMC) has verified that in 2021, within the framework of the upward spiral of energy, around 1.25 million people went from the PVPC to a rate on the free market at a fixed price.
Tips for household appliances that consume the most
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. It is clear that in most of them there is not much room for savings since it is not possible to disconnect them.
What consumers can do is make the most of the capacity of the refrigerators and adjust the thermostat between 4 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.