The price of regulated electricity tariffs for low-voltage customers is expected to rise between 0.40 and 1 euro in January 2023, the Energy Services Regulatory Authority (ERSE) announced on Monday. This means an average annual increase of 2.8% compared to 2022 and a monthly variation of 1.1% compared to December 2022. The proposal will still have to pass through the tariff council of this entity. The new rates will be announced on December 15.
The annual variation of 2.8% “relates to the average price for the year 2022, including the energy tariff updates in April and October 2022, as well as the exceptional tariff setting in July 2022,” explains the regulator. As a result of these changes, and on a monthly basis, “customers on the regulated market will increase on average by 1.1% in January 2023 compared to the prevailing prices in December 2022,” ERSE clarifies.
To illustrate the impact of the 1.1% average increase on the regulated market, between December 2022 and January 2023, ERSE gives some examples of the effect on the total electricity bill (including fees and taxes) for the most representative types of residential customers.
For example, a couple without children with a contracted capacity of 3.45 kVA and an annual consumption of 1900 kWh will have to pay 38.63 euros at the end of January 2023, an increase of 0.40 euros compared to December. A couple with two children with a contracted capacity of 6.9 kVA and an annual consumption of 5000 kWh will receive an invoice of 96.01 euros, which is an increase of 1.04 euros.
It should be recalled that the government had already indicated that the increase in regulated electricity tariffs would remain at 3%. At the press conference to present next year’s three billion euro support package to help reduce energy costs for businesses, Environment Minister Duarte Cordeiro anticipated ERSE’s announcement and said that “Portuguese families have the option of increasing % in 2023”, lower than the free market, simply by “going to the regulated rate”.
Consumers with a social rate receive a 33.8% discount on the sales rates to end customers, ERSE recalls.
Network access rates in negative values
The tariffs for access to the networks, set by ERSE, are paid by all consumers for the use of network infrastructures and are included in the final bill of suppliers on both the regulated market and the liberalized market.
“In 2023, tariffs for access to the networks will be significantly reduced, with their value becoming negative for consumers at all voltage levels,” the regulator indicates, as can be seen in the following table:
“The reduction in the tariff for access to the networks is the result of a sharp decrease in the tariff for the global use of the system, justified by the decrease in the costs of general economic interest (CIEG), which will translate in 2023 into an advantage for the Electrical System nationwide higher than the advantage of 2022,” ERSE explains. This measure is part of the three billion aid package that the cabinet announced last week to reduce energy costs for businesses and households. At the time, it appeared from the support that 1,500 million euros will go to regulatory measures such as this: lowering tariffs for access to networks.
Given the prices observed on the regulated market in 2022, this decision on the tariff for access to the networks contributes to a decrease of about 35% in the final bill of industrial consumers and of about 80% in the final bill of household consumersthereby alleviating the pressure of the wholesale market on the final prices paid by customers, both in the regulated market and in the liberalized market.
ERSE recalls that the impact on consumers in the liberalized market depends on the grid access tariffs, but also on the energy component purchased by each supplier.
In addition, the economic sustainability of the National Electricity System (SEN) is guaranteed, as a result of which the value of the tariff debt has decreased significantly by 830 million euros to a value at the end of 2023 of 878.9 million euros.
The network access rates are set by ERSE and are valid between January 1 and December 31.
The regulator advises consumers to “be vigilant and try to use available simulators, such as ERSE’s energy price simulator”. “If they find a better offer on the market, they have to switch suppliers,” ERSE says.
Source: DN
