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ARCHIVED - July electricity prices in Spain second-highest in history
The average energy bill in Spain last month was almost 70% more expensive than 2021
Electricity bills for the average customer on regulated hours during the month of July were 66.7% more expensive than the same period last year, becoming the second priciest month in history, surpassed only by March 2021, when each megawatt of electricity cost a staggering 176.73 euros.
According to Facua-Consumidores en Acción, last month consumers paid 142.30 euros/MWh.
These incredible costs keep climbing despite the fact that the Spanish government has implemented a number of measures explicitly designed to reduce energy bills: ministers promised that electricity costs would nosedive by around 15% for the average customer when the price cap on natural gas was introduced on June 15, but this hasn’t happened, and reducing VAT to 5% has had little impact either.
One possible reason is the series of heatwaves Spain has been experiencing so far this summer, and the government has pleaded with people to cut down on the amount they use air conditioning to avoid inflating electricity costs further. However, this doesn’t tell the whole story, since the highest ever cost was seen in March.
There are also vast differences in cost depending on when we consume the most electricity, and the increase between this year and last is striking: according to the calculations, this July, the average price of a kilowatt hour of electricity stood at 35.14 cents in off-peak hours (13.65 cents last year), 33.75 cents during flat hours (compared to 18.13) and 38.34 cents at peak hours (29.14 in July 2021).
Since the new electricity billing system came into play, it seems that the majority of people are taking advantage of the cheaper, off-peak hours to run their appliances (45%) but 29% of energy consumption in Spain still occurs during the most expensive times.
Whichever time you look at, electricity bills are still vastly more expensive this year than last, and Facua has again asked the government to demand a pricing reform from the European Commission. Moreover, the experts have suggested that Spain treat all but the most wealthy as ‘vulnerable consumers’ so that the average family could benefit from the reduced social bonus.
Image: Flickr
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