The price of light today shoots up.
The price of electricity today in the wholesale market rises by 103.42%. Check the cost of electricity hour by hour for this Monday, January 30
The price of light today shoots up. This Monday, January 30, the cost of electricity experiences a new and important rise, which causes the price of electricity to increase by 103.42% to reach 136.74 euros per megawatt / hour, according to data published by the Operator of the Iberian Energy Market (OMIE). Some numbers are far from the 67.22 euros/MWh of this Sunday and that do not help the consumer’s pocket at all when it is their turn to start up electrical appliances such as the oven or the dryer.
After the end of 2022 with the lowest prices of the year in January, we continued with the same trend, although experts always recommend that consumers look at the most advantageous hours to start up the appliances with the highest energy consumption. Energy saving specialists advise families to pay attention to the five household appliances that consume the most electricity: the dryer, the dishwasher, the refrigerator, the washing machine and the television.
These more contained prices from which consumers have been benefiting in recent weeks are upsetting them since it has plummeted for the 26 million users who remain in the regulated market. Although this reality entails many edges, as José María Camarero explains in his article on household bills in these changing circumstances. However, as the experts recall, nothing guarantees that the market will continue to behave in the same way in the coming weeks; and no one can clarify if some unexpected event raises prices again to the maximum levels they reached in summer, despite the Iberian ceiling. “Europe is still in a complex situation of natural gas shortages and the need to compensate for the lack of Russian supply,” explain the specialists from Grupo ASE.
Greater contribution of renewable energies
These more contained prices are largely due to the favorable weather conditions in Spain, with abundant rains that have filled the swamps, added to the abundance of wind throughout the peninsula. Thus, Red Eléctrica explains that Spain has been producing more renewable electricity than traditional electricity for almost twenty consecutive days. On some days the percentage of green energy is widely exceeded.
Also the price of gas, lower at the end of the year, is helping to reduce bills in companies and homes. However, experts remain vigilant to one of the major factors that affect the cost of electricity, the price of gas, highly conditioned by the weather but also by the war in Ukraine.
Another factor that is helping these savings is the ‘Iberian exception’ mechanism that establishes a ceiling on the price of gas for electricity generation. Without it this Monday, the price of electricity in Spain would be an average of 149.62 euros/MWh, which is 12.88 euros/MWh more than with the compensation for customers of the regulated rate, who will thus pay 8 .61% less on average.
Extension of the Iberian exception
Precisely both Spain and Portugal have started the process to request Europe to extend the Iberian exemption beyond May, as planned. Third Vice President Teresa Ribera has shown her optimism that this be achieved after the meeting held with the Competition Commissioner, Margrethe Vestager. This mechanism has made it possible to lower the bill of households and companies by 4,577 million euros, according to the calculations of the Ministry for the Ecological Transition.
The countries of the European Union agreed in December to apply a ceiling of 180 euros per megawatt hour to imported gas. The mechanism will come into operation on February 1 and will be activated automatically as soon as the three set requirements are met: a price above 180 euros/MWh for three consecutive days and with a difference of 35 euros compared to other international markets. Once activated, the mechanism will apply for 20 days.
The Iberian mechanism impacts the price of gas used to produce electricity in combined cycle plants. In other words, initially the cap on European gas will not have an impact on the Spanish market.
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.
Price of light today Monday January 30, hour by hour
cheapest hour
from 04:00 to 05:00, with 90 euros/MWhmost expensive hours
from 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., with 220 euros/MWh.
Thus, this Monday the cheapest time to start up electrical appliances is from four to five in the afternoon, with a cost of 90 euros/MWh, while the most expensive is from seven to eight in the afternoon, with 220 euros/MWh .
The effectiveness of the Iberian exception
The ‘Iberian mechanism’, which came 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 winter, the period in which that energy prices tend to be higher. This mechanism was approved after the price of light reached a maximum of 700 euros per megawatt hour in March of this year. The so-called ‘Iberian exception’ sets a path for natural gas for electricity generation from a price of 40 euros/MWh in the initial six months, and subsequently, a monthly increase of five euros/MWh until the end of the measure.
The average price of electricity for regulated rate customers linked to the wholesale market was 212 euros/MWh in 2022 until June 15 (before the entry into force of the gas cap), while in the rest of the year ( taking into account the calculation with this exceptional mechanism) the average price was 208 euros/MWh. If this measure had not existed, the average price of electricity between June 15 and December 31, 2022 would have been 256 euros/MWh, that is, 23% higher than what consumers have paid.
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 again, depending on the tolls and charges established in each of the hourly bands of the electricity tariff.
One of the keys to saving is to use the eco mode of devices such as the dishwasher
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.
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.