Electricity price rockets by 14% in July compared to a year ago and reaches highest level since February
The use of gas fuel sources to help prevent further power blackouts are driving up the energy cost for consumers in Spain
The national power blackout that left much of the Iberian Peninsula in the dark on 28 April is directly impacting electricity prices in Spain. The July bill has risen by 14% compared to the same time last year, making it the highest rate since February this year, based on a standard user with a regulated tariff, known as PVPC.
According to consumers' organisation Facua, the average cost of electricity for Spanish residents in July this year was 81.22 euros. This is 9.95 euros more than a year ago. On a monthly basis, the bill is up 2.3% (1.81 euros) from the average of 79.41 euros in June. However, the bill is much lower than the average in 2022, for example, when the outbreak of the war between Russia and Ukraine triggered an energy crisis that bumped Spanish electricity bills to 142.40 euros.
• Today's electricity prices in Spain for regulated rate customers
The increase in the bill this past July can be explained by the greater injection of gas fuel sources to strengthen the system, at the expense of electricity generated from renewable sources. All of this is the result of the blackout that exposed the vulnerabilities of the system and forced it to be bolstered with a greater volume of backup sources. This increase has also been conditioned by the rise in fuel prices compared to July 2024, coinciding with the peak summer travel season.
In fact, in the latest CPI data released by the INE national institute of statistics, which sets inflation at 2.7%, up four tenths compared to the same month last year, the INE attributes the rise in electricity prices as the main reason behind the increase in inflation.
