ELECTRICITY bills are set to go up yet again following an 11% hike this summer.
Wholesale energy suppliers have seen the highest prices of the year this month since December 2013.
As at today (September 30), the price per megawatt per hour (MWh) stands at 66.98 euros, meaning the average monthly figure is 58.90 euros.
In August, it was much lower at 49.91 euros and in July, 48.21 euros.
This means the average for the third quarter is 52.34 euros per MWh, some 31% higher than the 39.93 euros for the months of April, May and June and 102% higher than the typical 25.80 euros seen in February.
Prices were considerably lower in the first few months of the year due to heavy rainfall in parts of Spain and high winds allowing power supply wholesalers to produce a greater amount of wind-farm and hydraulic energy.
The amount of an electricity bill that relates to actual consumption is only 37.48%, whilst 21.38% relates to taxes and 41.14% for standing charges.
This means the rocketing cost of the energy itself translates to a rise of 11% per bill.
Wholesaler OMIP forecasts a reduction in price of around 4.2% in the final quarter of 2014, bringing the average down to 50.10 euros per MWh, being 52.10 euros in October, 48.60 euros in November and 49.60 euros in December.
The forecast for this year as a whole was for average prices per MWh to be in region of 42 euros, a fall of 4.8% on last year's 44.16 euros which translates to a reduction in bills of 1.7%.
But in practice, electricity bills have only come down by around 0.8% because the standing charges went up by 0.9% in January.
