What is the gas cap and until when will it be in force?

Euskaraz irakurri: Zer da gasaren topea eta noiz arte egongo da indarrean?

The price that electricity and gas will have in 2023 is one of the great unknowns, in the hands of factors such as the war in Ukraine, the instability of the markets or the weather.

To tackle this volatility, the Government of Spain validated the Iberian exception on May 13, a temporary measure (Royal Decree-Law 10/2022) whose objective is to adjust the price of electricity, establishing a maximum reference price for natural gas used to produce electricity. As the name itself indicates, it is a “ceiling” and not a rebate or a discount.

The approval by the European Commission of the Iberian exception on June 8 meant that the measure began to be applied in the daily market on June 15.

However, as of January, the threshold at which this cap is activated in the wholesale market will gradually increase by 5 euros/MWh. What has been established by the Spanish Executive and the Council of Europe is that initially, the reference price of gas should be set at 40 euros/MWh during the first six months.

Thus, from January the fixed limit will be 45 euros/MWh, compared to the 40 euros in force up to now, given that six months after the entry into force of the gas cap, it has to go up by 5 euros month by month. . This limitation will be in force until May 31.