The limitation of the price of gas used in the generation of electricity in Spain meant an average saving on the electricity bill for families of 24.4% in summer, according to the business school Esade in a report released Friday.
In June, Spain and Portugal reached an agreement with the European Commission to implement a new system to limit the price of gas and coal used in electricity generation, temporarily subsidizing the energy costs of fossil fuel plants.
On Friday, the bloc’s energy ministers will discuss a Europe-wide gas cap similar to the one adopted on the Iberian peninsula, in their fight against rising energy prices linked to falling Russian gas flows, which is stoking record inflation and threatening a recession.
At least 15 countries are proposing a cap on gas from all sources, including Russia, but Germany, which is the main buyer, is opposed at the moment.
According to the Esade business school, between June 15 and August 31, while Spain suffered record heat waves, households with a regulated rate -not in the free market- saved 24.4% on their electricity bill compared to a scenario in the same period with no cap.
The report projected the cost for an average Spanish household consuming 8 kWh a day if the cap had not been introduced, finding that it would have saved some €69 ($67.41) over the period.
At least 10 million households in Spain have a regulated rate, so the total savings would have been 690 million euros, according to calculations by Esade.
The Minister of Ecological Transition, Teresa Ribera, said Wednesday in Parliament that the cap had saved the average household 17 euros a month.
However, the report points out that when less renewable energy is generated, as happened in summer when there was less wind and rain, the gas cap produces an incentive to gas consumption, which is contrary to the decarbonisation objectives set by the EU.
Electricity exports to France have soared, meaning a country not funding the measure could have benefited from it, the report said, a distortion that could spread to the rest of the bloc if the cap is approved elsewhere.