Business · Energy & Commodities · 8 hrs ago
Grid balancing costs drove two-thirds of Spain’s regulated power price rise
Spain’s regulated electricity price rose 6.5% in September, reaching an average of €148 per megawatt-hour.
The increase affected the regulated tariff used by more than eight million households, including people eligible for the social electricity discount.
Grid balancing services accounted for two-thirds of the monthly rise, adding €9.86 per megawatt-hour before taxes to a total increase of €15.03.
These services help keep electricity supply and demand in balance, and include extra measures introduced after Spain’s April 2025 blackout.
Those measures involve scheduling gas-fired power plants and paying some industrial companies to accept planned interruptions to their electricity supply.
Higher international gas prices also pushed up electricity costs, while the regulated tariff’s use of futures-market prices helped limit the increase.
Customers on fixed-price contracts in the open market usually do not have these balancing costs passed on directly in their bills, according to the source.
Grid balancing services accounted for €9.86 per megawatt-hour of the €15.03/MWh pre-tax rise in Spain’s regulated electricity tariff in September, according to Cinco Días.
The regulated tariff averaged €148/MWh in September, 6.5% more than in August.
The rise followed higher wholesale electricity prices and additional system-balancing costs linked to measures introduced after Spain’s April 2025 blackout.
The balancing measures include running gas-fired power plants and paying industrial companies to reduce electricity use when asked.
More than eight million households are on the regulated tariff, which is required for consumers eligible for social-bonus discounts.
- Who
- Spanish households on the regulated electricity tariff; Red Eléctrica (REE) operates the system-balancing measures.
- What
- Grid-balancing services accounted for about two-thirds of the regulated tariff’s September increase.
- When
- September, compared with August. The report was published on 13 October 2026.
- Where
- Spain.
- Why
- The increase reflected higher electricity-market prices and extra balancing costs for system security after the April 2025 blackout.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
A blackout occurred in Spain.
REE applied reinforced system operations to provide security to the electricity system.
The regulated tariff averaged €148/MWh, 6.5% above August.
Cinco Días reported that balancing services accounted for two-thirds of the tariff’s increase.
- Balancing services’ share of the increase
- €9.86/MWh out of €15.03/MWh before taxes
- September regulated tariff average
- €148/MWh
- Change from August
- 6.5% increase
- Households on the regulated tariff
- More than 8 million
- Industrial demand-response service cost
- €434 million this year
Sources
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