Price of electricity today, September 9: the most expensive hour will be from 20:00 to 21:00 and the cheapest from 14:00 to 15:00

The setting of the wholesale electricity price in Spain (day-ahead and intraday markets managed by OMIE and balancing services) is supported by a hierarchical regulatory framework: European Union rules that impose the marginal pricing design and market coupling, a basic state law of the electricity sector, royal decrees that organize the production market, and below them, circulars and resolutions from the CNMC and the Secretary of State for Energy that specify the operational rules of OMIE and the system operator.

1. European framework

At the highest level is EU law, which defines the design of the internal market:

• Regulation (EU) 2019/943, on the internal electricity market, which imposes the principle of price formation through marginal matching, requires market operators to offer products with granularity at least equivalent to the imbalance settlement period (15 minutes), and sets criteria for price limits, tradable products, and non-discriminatory market access.
• Regulation (EU) 2015/1222 (CACM), on capacity allocation and congestion management, which establishes the single European day-ahead and intraday coupling. It entails the use of a common matching algorithm, the integration of MIBEL in coupled auctions, and the rules on products and price limits that OMIE must comply with (explicitly cited in the Resolution of May 9, 2018 and subsequent CNMC resolutions).
• Regulation (EU) 2017/2195, on electricity balancing, which sets common criteria for balancing services and imbalances. The Resolution of May 20, 2021 by the CNMC adapts operating procedures 14.4 and 14.6 to these rules, influencing how balancing services that complement the day-ahead market are remunerated and settled.

This European framework sets the coupled marginal market model and requires Spain to structure its wholesale markets compatibly with these algorithms and products.

2. Basic electricity sector law

At the state level, the central piece is the Law 24/2013, of December 26, on the Electricity Sector. Among other aspects:

• It distinguishes regulated activities (transmission and distribution) and liberalized ones (generation and commercialization), and establishes that production is remunerated in an organized wholesale market, abandoning the logic of administrative cost recognition.
• It assigns to the General State Administration the competence to regulate the economic and technical management of the system and approve market rules and operating procedures (art. 3.10, among others).
• It defines the role of the market operator (OMIE) and the system operator, and the participation of producers, retailers, and consumers in the day-ahead, intraday, and balancing services markets, the legal basis on which the marginal matching mechanism is built.

3. State-level development regulations

On this law rests key regulatory development:

• Royal Decree 2019/1997, of December 26, organizing and regulating the electricity production market, cited in the Resolution of May 9, 2018. It recognizes the market operator as the central counterparty for day-ahead market purchases and sales, structures the day-ahead and intraday markets, and enables the approval of market operation rules that determine offer matching.
• CNMC Circular 3/2019, of November 20, establishing methodologies regulating the operation of the wholesale electricity market and system operation management. This circular, repeatedly cited in CNMC resolutions of 2023, 2024, and 2025, sets the methodological framework for:
  • The development and modification of organized market rules (day-ahead, intraday, European intraday auctions).
  • The consideration of coupling algorithms, products, and price limits defined by CACM and Regulation 2019/943.

4. Specific rules of OMIE and CNMC

The detailed operation of the day-ahead and intraday markets, where the hourly wholesale price is formed through marginal matching, is defined by specific resolutions:

• Resolution of May 9, 2018, by the Secretary of State for Energy, approving the operating rules of the day-ahead and intraday electricity production markets and the adhesion contract ( BOE-A-2018-6295). It specifies:
  • Participation conditions for producers, retailers, and consumers.
  • The structure of daily and intraday sessions and the sequence of operations.
  • Economic guarantees and how OMIE settles energy and prices.
• CNMC resolutions updating OMIE rules in application of Circular 3/2019, including:
  • Resolution of February 23, 2023, adapting rules to the economic regime of renewable energies and other market changes.
  • Resolution of May 23, 2024, approving new rules to incorporate European intraday auctions, fully integrating the Iberian market into the European intraday coupling and thus modifying intraday price formation.
  • Resolution of February 28, 2025, adapting rules to quarter-hourly trading and a new offer typology, adjusting the temporal granularity of prices and how offers are matched and settled.
• Additionally, resolutions such as the one of May 20, 2021 modify operating procedures related to balancing services, impacting the prices of balancing services that complement the energy market.

Altogether, these regulatory levels configure a marginal wholesale market coupled to Europe, where the hourly price resulting from offer matching in OMIE, adjusted by balancing services and technical constraints, is considered the wholesale reference price in Spain.

The National Commission on Markets and Competition (CNMC) is the independent regulator and supervisor of energy markets in Spain. In the electricity sector, its competencies are mainly based on Law 3/2013, establishing the CNMC, Law 24/2013, on the Electricity Sector, and European regulations, especially Regulation (EU) 1227/2011 (REMIT) on integrity and transparency of wholesale energy markets.

1. General supervision of electricity markets

According to information from the Government and the CNMC itself, the body exercises a function of continuous and daily monitoring of energy markets (electricity, gas, and fuels) to:

• Ensure the proper functioning of the electricity and gas markets.
• Ensure transparency in price formation.
• Detect possible incidents or irregular behaviors affecting competition.
• Ensure markets operate according to current regulation.

To this end, the CNMC maintains close coordination with the electricity market operator (OMIE) and the system operator (Red Eléctrica de España, now Redeia), exchanging relevant information and monitoring the evolution of prices and traded volumes (Moncloa note of 03/11/2026).

2. Supervision of integrity and transparency of the wholesale market (REMIT)

Under Regulation (EU) 1227/2011 (REMIT), the CNMC supervises the integrity and transparency of wholesale electricity markets. This involves:

• Monitoring and pursuing market manipulation (e.g., artificial price distortion).
• Pursuing the use of insider information in energy transactions.
• Collaborating with the Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER) and other European regulators to coordinate supervision (CNMC note on REMIT, 04/19/2024).
• Imposing sanctions in cases of serious or very serious violations in the wholesale market.

3. Economic regulation: tariffs, network access and connection

Law 24/2013 on the Electricity Sector divides competencies between the Government and the CNMC regarding network access and connection. According to the CNMC itself:

• The CNMC sets the methodology and conditions for access and connection to transmission and distribution networks.
• Defines criteria to assess available capacity in networks and publishes detailed technical specifications for calculating that capacity (resolution on access capacity, 07/05/2024).
• Approves and modifies system operation procedures (e.g., voltage control, balancing services, active demand response), which determine how the system is technically operated and how certain services are remunerated.

These competencies directly influence the structure of the electricity market, who can connect and under what conditions, and the remuneration of many regulated activities.

4. Price supervision and consumer protection

The CNMC periodically publishes information on electricity prices and other energy products, and can increase the frequency of publication when price volatility requires it, in order to strengthen monitoring and transparency of energy markets (Moncloa, 03/11/2026).

Additionally, it issues reports and regulatory proposals to improve protection of electricity consumers, for example regarding contracts and supply, retail commercialization, or customer service (report on electricity supply contracts).

5. Sanctioning function and competition control

As a competition authority, the CNMC can:

• Investigate and initiate sanctioning proceedings for anticompetitive practices (cartels, abuse of dominant position, discrimination in network access, etc.) in the electricity market.
• Sanction electricity companies, aggregators, or even the system operator if they violate electricity sector or competition defense regulations, with potentially very high fines.
• Challenge provisions or administrative acts that create unjustified obstacles to competition in the electricity sector.

6. Advisory and normative proposal functions

Finally, the CNMC plays a relevant role in advising and proposing:

• It issues mandatory or optional reports on draft regulations in the electricity field (royal decrees, orders, circulars, etc.).
• Develops and approves circulars and resolutions that specify technical and economic aspects of system and market operation.
• Proposes measures to improve competition, economic efficiency, and supply security in the electricity system.

Overall, the CNMC's competencies in the electricity market combine technical and economic supervision, sanctioning powers, and regulatory and advisory capacity, aiming to guarantee a safe, efficient, competitive, and transparent electricity system serving consumers.

To qualify for the regulated electricity tariff in Spain, the Voluntary Price for the Small Consumer (PVPC), it is necessary to meet a series of technical and contractual conditions, and, in the case of vulnerable consumers, additional income and family situation requirements to access the electric social bonus.

1. Basic requirements to contract PVPC (non-vulnerable consumers)

The most recent information from the Government (for example, the note “Measures against the energy crisis in Spain: how do they benefit me?” from the Ministry for Ecological Transition, 7/4/2024, available at Moncloa) and explanations collected by the newspaper Demócrata allow summarizing the current requirements as follows:

• Type of client: PVPC is intended for natural persons and microenterprises who are holders of a supply point.
• Type of supply: it must be a low voltage supply with voltages not exceeding 1 kV, typical of households and small businesses.
• Contracted power: the maximum power to qualify for PVPC is 10 kW. This is detailed by Moncloa itself and reiterated in various notes and pieces by Demócrata on PVPC hourly prices.
• Reference retailer: PVPC can only be contracted with so-called Reference Retailers (COR), companies authorized by the Government to offer the regulated tariff and apply the social bonus. A Demócrata piece (“How to know if you have PVPC regulated tariff or free market…”, 7/28/2026, at Demócrata) reminds that if the bill comes from a COR, the contract belongs to the regulated market and may be PVPC.
• Individual contract per supply point: PVPC is contracted per each CUPS (supply point). The same household can only have PVPC at those points that meet the voltage and power conditions.
• Meter and consumption measurement: PVPC is based on official hourly prices published by the system operator, but the consulted notes do not set a type of meter as an eligibility requirement; the meter mainly affects the detail with which consumption is recorded and billed, not the right to be or not in PVPC.

In summary, any holder of a domestic supply or small activity in low voltage, with contracted power equal to or less than 10 kW, can request PVPC as long as it is done through a reference retailer.

2. Additional requirements for vulnerable consumers (social bonus)

Being a “vulnerable consumer” is not a requirement to have PVPC, but it is mandatory to have PVPC to benefit from the electric social bonus. According to the Moncloa guide and the article “Electric social bonus 2026: requirements, discounts, and how to apply for the aid…” in Demócrata, it requires:

• Having contracted PVPC with a Reference Retailer.
• That the contract corresponds to the applicant's habitual residence.
• Maintaining a contracted power ≤ 10 kW.
• That the person applying for the aid is the holder of the supply.
• Meeting the economic and family requirements set by articles 3 and 4 of Royal Decree 897/2017 and subsequent updates: income limits according to IPREM, large family, certain minimum pensions, beneficiaries of the Minimum Vital Income, or special situations (disability, single-parenthood, etc.), according to the case detailed by the Government in this note.

Only those who meet the above can receive the enhanced social bonus discounts on their PVPC bill.

3. What if I am in the free market and want to switch to PVPC?

Notes from MITECO on the new Supply Regulation (2/10/2026, at MITECO) and the Council of Ministers summary collected by Demócrata indicate:

• Any household or SME with power less than 15 kW can terminate their free market contract, generally without penalty, except in some very specific permanence cases.
• If the change is made by a vulnerable consumer to switch to PVPC, no penalties of any kind can be applied, not even on additional services previously contracted with the former retailer.
• The practical step is to contract PVPC directly with a Reference Retailer, provided the supply point meets the 10 kW limit and is low voltage.

In conclusion, access to the regulated tariff depends on power (≤ 10 kW), type of supply (low voltage), retailer (reference), and, for the social bonus, that it is the habitual residence and that the economic and social vulnerability requirements set by current regulations are met.