Did you receive a price change message? It is better to check the conditions so that there are no surprises

Many companies in the electricity sector are already sending letters to customers with proposals for new tariffs, which in some cases are indexed to the daily value of the negotiation, which can increase bills at the end of the month.

The situation was reported by some clients to CNN Portugal. “As a result of the abnormal and significant increase in the price of electricity in the Iberian market,” the value will be updated on the fifth of the following month, “for the period of time during which the current situation of abnormally high prices occurs,” it reads. in one of the letters.

According to the station, some customers who had difficulty understanding the new arithmetic equations saw their electricity bills rise, which, in one case, rose by about 79%: from 13.08 cents to 23.46 cents per kilowatt-hour, which led the person to switch to the regulated system. market.

It is important to clarify that domestic electricity customers have access to two markets: the regulated market (with prices set annually by the regulator) and the free market (set by companies).

Within the liberalized segment – the dominant segment, with 85.6% of clients – there is a type of indexed offering for intraday trading, which still has a residual presence in the Portuguese market.

This indication of the value at which energy is traded in the wholesale market poses an “additional risk” that must be taken into account when reviewing prices, says CNN Portugal.

For example, according to the station, the value of energy – one of the three components of the electricity bill – was 10 times higher in December 2021 than it was in the same month in 2020.

The Energy Sector Regulatory Authority (ERSE) explains to CNN that “adherence to indexed offers in daily energy negotiations remains a new and remaining reality in Portugal, given that suppliers have started offering this type of offer to consumers in residential areas relatively recently.”

“In the future, and with a return to greater price stability in the wholesale market, indexed offerings may prove to be a viable option for Portuguese families, if spelled out correctly,” he adds.