In full July, with the air conditioning Working tirelessly and The tuned light billin Spain there is a single moment of the day when electricity consumption does not hurt so much in the pocket. That little energy respite is concentrated at noon, a time strip in which electricity costs half or even less than in the rest of the day, but why is it just time?
The fire triggered. On Wednesday, July 16, the average price of electricity had been in the € 164.06/MWh at the regulated rate (PVPC), According to data from Electrica de España. For this Thursday 17, a slight drop is expected to € 102.85/MWh, but that half hides an unequal reality: for much of the day, the cost exceeds 120 euros per megavatio hour, As the Iberian energy market operator has collected (OMIE). Only for a single hour there is a “affordable” price.
In just seven hours, electricity will go from relatively affordable to almost double its price. At 15:00, it will cost € 73.00/MWh. At 22:00, it will reach € 129.85/MWh. The explanation is not in a peak of consumption, but in a change of source: the sun is exhausted, the gas enters and the market reacts.
Why only in that time strip? The reason is in the sun. From three in the afternoon, the solar production curve increases considerably. The electrical system then enters an overoferta phase: there is more renewable generation than real demand. This surplus translates into an abrupt fall in the price in the wholesale market (‘pool’), which reflects in real time the imbalance between what is produced and what is consumed.
The problem is that this surplus cannot be stored properly. Spain still does not have batteries No infrastructure sufficient pumping to save That cheap energy and release it when it is most needed. Thus, the system is forced to sell cheap at noon and buy expensive at dusk.
To this lack of storage is added a less visible problem: he Curtailment. Although more renewable than ever, part of that energy is lost due to saturation of the network. According to Red Eléctrica, in some knots of the central-south peninsular-such as Arenas de San Juan or Caroyuelas— It has wasted up to 30 % of the electricity generated due to lack of capacity to evacuate it. Meanwhile, the price of light continues to rise.
This schedule imbalance generates what experts call a daily “spread”: a price difference that can exceed € 200/MWh between the cheapest time and the most expensive of the day. It is what makes an invoice shoot although part of electricity is generated almost free.
It is not just guilt of the sun. The price of light not only depends solely on solar radiation. From the blackout of April 28, Red Electrica has activated A reinforced operational modewith more weight of the combined gas cycles to stabilize the network. This emergency measure It has become the new normality While structural reforms are implemented that will not be ready until next year.
The direct impact on the invoice. Consumers with regulated rate (PVPC) are the most exposed to this volatility. Every day, your bill depends on the price hour by time. But even free market customers are noticing uploads: some electrical companies are transferring the contracts to the contracts, As Facua has warnedwhat could be illegal if it is not foreseen contractually.
With this panorama, many consumers try to concentrate the use of appliances such as washing machines, ovens or air conditioners during that cheap time of the day. However, not everyone has room to reorganize their life around a single low cost strip.
The solution is more than clear. In this environment we have spoken many times: it goes through More energy storage, greater demand management, More local micro -redes and best interconnections with Europe. The government already has launched Royal Decree-Law 7/2025 To accelerate these changes, and has initiated the creation of a capacity market to guarantee the supply.
But none of these measures is immediate. Some have deadlines until September, but others will lengthen until mid -2026. Meanwhile, the gas dependence will continue to mark night prices.
A race against clock. Every day, the Spanish electrical system offers a single cheap electricity window. It is the reflection of an energy paradox: there has never been so much renewable energy, and it has never been so difficult to take advantage of it efficiently.
As long as storage and flexibility deficiencies are not resolved, the cheap time will be a timely privilege and not a guarantee. In a summer marked by heat waves, the cost of not acting on time will be measured not only in euros, but also in emissions, social vulnerability and energy dependence.
Image | Unspash
Xataka | Broady in April, more expensive invoice in May: thus has affected the system reinforcement
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