On the wholesale market, where producers sell electricity to traders and large consumers, the average price at which electricity is sold this Monday in Portugal is about four times higher than that recorded in neighboring Spain, according to an Eco report.
The average megawatt hour price in Portugal this Monday is 43.94 euros, the most expensive megawatt hour reaching 62.73 euros and the cheapest being 30.36 euros. On the other hand, on the other side of the border, the megawatt hour was on average at 10.89 euros, and the maximum price was slightly higher than the minimum price in Portugal: it was 35 euros. The lowest price recorded in Spain was less than 4 euros per megawatt hour.
Prices in the two countries are usually elbow, because the Iberian market is completely integrated. However, since the breakdown last Monday, for security reasons, the operator of the national transmission networks, Ren, has decided to break the connection with Spain, thus ceasing to import electricity produced in this country. A situation that Ren plans to maintain until Tuesday, according to the latest information communicated on the company’s website.
The day after the breakdown, electricity market prices were aligned on the Iberian market – at 5.79 euros per megawatt hour – but, from there, differences were noted, not always in favor of Spain. Thus, on April 30, the neighboring country recorded an average price of 31.83 euros, while Portugal displayed an average price of 20.54 euros.
On May 1, the trend was reversed, Portugal paying on average 18.85 euros and Spain 13.29 euros. On May 2, the difference between the two countries meant that Portugal exceeds Spain by 3 euros per megawatt hour. On the 3rd, the gap was lower, just over one euro. However, on the 4th, the gap reached more than 9 euros and finally, this Monday, Portugal marked four times more.
The differences in wholesale prices have no direct impact on most invoices, which are contracted at a fixed price for 12 months. However, they are visible on the invoice of indexed prices – which however experienced several days of negative prices in April, which can help dilute the negative effects of the failure.
