Spain, upsurge of the electricity bill: the reasons why

Whereas gas-fired power plants represent 30 per cent of the installed power in Spain, the unprecedented increase of gas prices and the low wind energy production, electric power has reached very high prices. Therefore, the government has adopted measures which go against the liberalisation of electric power markets. In this context, this article comments the role of nuclear energy (7 reactors are being operated, but phasing out nuclear is foreseen by 2035) and evokes the shares of other energies, comments the evolution of the load factor of the different technologies (wind, nuclear, gas generation) and the evolution of energy mix during September 2021. It describes how gas prices result in the upsurge of electricity price in Europe. Then, after having evoked the unprecedented measures adopted to protect consumers, the direct impact of gas prices on the profitability of the nuclear sector is outlined. Finally, the question of the responsibility of either the liberalisation of electricity markets or of an energy policy to be reviewed is raised