Once again, the price of electricity will rise this Friday after reaching 177.90 euros per megawatt hour in the wholesale market.

The increase, of 4.15% compared to the figure set on Thursday, continues an escalation since the cap was applied to the price of gas for electricity generation, which also goes hand in hand with fuel.

In any case, there will be a slight respite, since the compensation to the combined cycle plants hardly varies despite the fact that on Thursday they contributed 43.4% of the production to the electrical system.

The percentage is one of the highest that has been seen in the last 15 years.

In fact, since June 2008, combined cycle generation had only exceeded 40% on one occasion: two days ago.

Gas continues to be the protagonist despite the fact that Spain, in theory, does not depend so much on it.

Electricity generation

What is the current crisis due to? A host of factors, actually.

And all of them could have had an impact on the price of electricity individually, so their conjunction has caused the price of everything to increase in a kind of negative electrical synergy.


The first, of course, is the price of gas, which continues to rise.

That destined for electricity generation has gone from having a price of 80 euros per MWh on the first day of the cap to reach 106.94 euros per MWh this Friday.

It should also be borne in mind that in the midst of a heat wave there is a high energy demand for cooling and, furthermore, part of it arrives at generally quieter times, such as at night.

As if that were not enough, then it is not possible to resort to solar.

Australia, still heavily dependent on coal, has even asked citizens of the state of New South Wales to turn off the lights for two hours a day to save energy.


Returning to Spain, wind energy, the third leg of this unstable table of factors, has been contributing close to 10% of generation for three days (9.9%, 9.8% and 10.2% between 14 and 16 June), when shortly before it became the predominant technology, with a load of a quarter of the work. Does the war influence? Yes, in a certain way.

Russia does not get to cut off the gas tap, but neither does it let it flow with all its flow.

In fact, Gazprom lowered production through Nord Stream by almost 60% in a few days: from 167 million cubic meters of gas to 67. They alleged technical problems due to not having the necessary material due to the sanctions, something that in Germany is not they believe.

Be that as it may, lowering the offer increases the cost. How is the price calculated? In a reverse auction.

Every day,

the agencies in charge of energy management in each country go to the wholesale market, where producers offer the electricity they have based on what it cost them to produce it.

Renewables, therefore, arrive practically free, with the peculiarity that they are all sold at the same price later: that of the most expensive energy.

The system is complex, but it is set up to, in theory, benefit green sources and promote their development.

However, not enough cheap energy is currently being produced to meet everyone's needs, and more expensive or polluting sources, such as gas, have to be resorted to. Why is gas important?

because only combined cycle plants and hydroelectric plants can be quickly put into operation if there is a peak in demand.

Solar and wind depend on their sources -sun and wind- and coal and nuclear are not immediate, but take between hours and days to start generating electricity.

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