Price of electricity today, Sunday, September 6: the cheapest and most expensive hours to consume

To offer the regulated tariff PVPC (Voluntary Price for the Small Consumer), a company cannot be just any retailer: it must be specifically designated as a Reference Retailer (COR) by the Administration. This status implies meeting additional requirements of solvency, technical capacity, and consumer protection, and being subject to a stricter regulated regime than the free market.

Although the details are specified in sector regulations and specific orders from the Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge (MITECO), as well as criteria from the National Commission on Markets and Competition (CNMC), it can be summarized as follows:

1. Authorization as a retailer and specific designation as COR

• First, the company must be authorized as an electricity retailer in the Spanish system, meeting the general market access requirements (registration in the corresponding registries, contractual relationship with the distributor, access to wholesale markets, etc.).
• On that basis, the Ministry can explicitly designate it as a Reference Retailer, which enables it to offer PVPC and manage the social bonus. In Spain, the number of CORs is limited and reviewed by the Administration; it is not a condition obtained simply by “requesting a license.”

2. Solvency requirements and financial guarantees

CORs must demonstrate sufficient economic capacity to assume regulated supply and associated risks. The CNMC has emphasized that retailers, in general, strengthen their guarantees to avoid defaults and bankruptcies that end up impacting the electrical system, highlighting that:

• They must demonstrate sufficient technical and economic capacity before starting activity, given the history of disqualifications for failing solvency requirements (CNMC note).
• Financial guarantees and continuous supervision mechanisms are contemplated, with the possibility of precautionary measures when there are risks to consumers.

3. Technical and organizational requirements

A COR must have sufficient means to provide a regulated service to millions of potential customers:

• Technical means and qualified human resources to manage billing, relations with the system operator and markets, and the high volume of claims and procedures associated with the regulated tariff.
• Robust and accessible customer service systems, subject to specific rules set by supply and contracting regulations. The National Strategy against Energy Poverty and recent regulatory development reinforce transparency and protection obligations for those contracting PVPC and social bonus (MITECO).
• Capacity to correctly apply the calculation of PVPC and its regulated components, including costs that the system operator and CNMC publish and settle specifically for Reference Retailers (BOE).

4. Information obligations and brand separation

CORs are subject to reinforced consumer information obligations, both because of their role in the regulated tariff and for being the only gateway to the electric social bonus:

• They must identify in a clear and non-misleading way that they operate as Reference Retailers. The CNMC has sanctioned behaviors that caused confusion between the free market brand and the regulated one, precisely because distinguishing them is “basic to protect consumers and ensure the proper functioning of the market” (CNMC resolution on Endesa).
• They must comply with strict rules on marketing and commercial practices (for example, limits on unsolicited calls and additional transparency obligations in contracting, as detailed by MITECO in its note on ending retailers’ telephone “spam”: link).

5. Social function and specific obligations

• Only CORs can offer PVPC and manage the social bonus, so they assume additional obligations of protection for vulnerable consumers and collaboration with public policies against energy poverty.
• They must apply regulatory conditions set by the Government (price, structure of tolls and charges, limits on certain contractual clauses, etc.), renouncing the full freedom to set prices typical of the free market.

In summary, to become a Reference Retailer and be able to offer PVPC, a company must already be an authorized retailer, demonstrate reinforced solvency and technical capacity, meet strict customer service and information requirements, clearly separate its regulated and free brands, and accept a highly regulated framework with specific obligations regarding the social bonus and protection of vulnerable consumers.

In the electricity sector, the National Commission on Markets and Competition (CNMC) acts both as a sector regulator and as a competition authority. Its functions are mainly supported by Law 3/2013, establishing the CNMC, and Law 24/2013 of the Electricity Sector, as well as European regulations (for example, the REMIT Regulation on integrity and transparency of wholesale energy markets).

1. Supervision and control of wholesale markets

The CNMC exercises continuous and daily supervision of the electricity wholesale markets to ensure they operate normally, transparently, and in accordance with regulation. According to the joint note from Moncloa and the CNMC on strengthening supervision of energy markets (Moncloa note dated 03/11/2026), this includes:

• Daily monitoring of prices and volumes in electricity (and gas) markets.
• Close coordination with market operators (OMIE) and the system operator (Red Eléctrica) to exchange relevant information.
• Detection of possible irregular behaviors or practices contrary to the proper functioning of markets.
• Supervision of the integrity and transparency of electricity wholesale markets in application of Regulation (EU) No. 1227/2011 (REMIT).

2. Regulation of access and connection to networks

Regarding transmission and distribution networks, the CNMC has very relevant normative and detailed competencies. Article 33 of the Electricity Sector Law establishes a division of competencies between the Government and the CNMC on access and connection. Accordingly, the CNMC:

• Establishes the methodology and conditions for access and connection to transmission and distribution networks, including criteria to evaluate available capacity.
• Approves detailed technical specifications and circulars that develop those criteria, such as the resolution on generation access capacity to transmission and distribution networks (CNMC note 07/05/2024).
• Defines how network managers (transmission and distribution) must publish access capacity information for generation and demand, through resolutions published in the BOE.

These functions are key for the integration of renewables, storage, and new demand in the system, as they condition which projects can connect and under what terms.

3. Technical supervision of the system: operation and voltage procedures

The CNMC also intervenes in the technical operation of the electrical system through the operation procedures applied by the system operator. For example:

• It modifies operation procedures related to voltage control service, system scheduling, and management of outages (such as the resolution of June 12, 2025, on the voltage control service, published in the BOE, BOE-A-2025-13076).
• It can introduce urgent measures to stabilize voltage in the grid, requiring daily information from Red Eléctrica on the implementation and effects of those measures.
• It promotes mechanisms such as the “regulatory sandbox” or active demand response, so that companies and consumers participate in system services.

All this places the CNMC as a central piece in defining operational rules affecting transmission, distribution, and agent participation in balancing services.

4. Retail market and consumer protection

In the retail sphere, the CNMC supervises the actions of electricity retailers to ensure they comply with consumer and energy regulations. Among its notable functions:

• Control of sales and customer acquisition practices, urging retailers to monitor their sales forces and correct bad practices (CNMC note 01/31/2025).
• Issuance of reports and normative proposals to improve consumer protection in contracts and electricity supply (IPN on contracting of electricity consumers).
• Supervision of transparency in price and condition information, and analysis of customer service of electricity and gas companies.
• Preparation and publication of statistics and reports on complaints, retailer changes, service quality, and other indicators affecting the end user.

5. Competition defense and sanctioning power

Besides the regulatory function, the CNMC is the national authority responsible for applying Law 15/2007 on Defense of Competition and Articles 101 and 102 of the TFEU. In the electricity sector, this translates into:

• Investigation and sanctioning of cartels, restrictive agreements, and abuses of dominant position by electricity companies, distributors, or other agents.
• Imposition of fines and behavioral or structural obligations when detecting anticompetitive practices, such as in the sanctioning file against UFD (Naturgy) for limiting competition in electricity meters, where the CNMC applied both the LDC and Article 102 TFEU.
• Capacity to challenge provisions or administrative actions that introduce unjustified obstacles to competition in the sector.

Overall, these competencies make the CNMC the technical and independent vertex that oversees the proper functioning of the electricity market in all its phases: generation, networks, retail, and consumer relations.

The framework regulating the electricity market and electricity price formation in Spain is complex and consists of several laws, royal decrees, CNMC circulars, and European regulations. For practical purposes, it can be distinguished between the sector's “main” regulation and a set of provisions that develop the wholesale market, tolls and charges, and the regulated tariff (PVPC).

1. Basic electricity sector regulation

The central piece is Law 24/2013, of December 26, on the Electricity Sector (text in BOE). This law:

• Defines the sector structure (generation, transmission, distribution, retail, and consumption).
• Establishes the principle of economic-financial sustainability of the system and the allocation of regulated costs.
• Configures the electricity production market and its alignment with European regulations.
• Regulates the voluntary price for the small consumer (PVPC) and last resort tariffs (article 17), the basis for how the regulated tariff is calculated.

The law has been amended by several royal decree-laws, including Royal Decree-Law 1/2019, which strengthens the CNMC's role in toll and charge methodologies, and RDL 7/2026, which according to specialized press again modifies Law 24/2013 to reinforce electric consumer rights.

2. Wholesale market and matching rules

The hourly energy price formation is carried out in the wholesale market (“pool”), within the European framework set by Regulation (EU) 2019/943 on the internal electricity market. In Spain:

• The CNMC has approved Circular 3/2019, which regulates wholesale market methodologies and system operation (cited in recent CNMC resolutions on operation procedures).
• Various CNMC resolutions approve and update the operating rules of the day-ahead and intraday markets, for example the Resolution of May 23, 2024, and that of February 28, 2025, which adapt the market to European auctions and quarter-hourly trading (example in BOE).
• Royal Decree-Law 10/2022 creates the production cost adjustment mechanism (the so-called “gas cap”), which temporarily acts on the market clearing price (BOE).

3. Tolls and charges on the bill

Besides the “pool” price, the regulation clearly separates tolls (network remuneration) and charges (other regulated costs):

• CNMC Circular 3/2020 establishes the methodology to calculate electricity transmission and distribution tolls and their tariff structure. The text itself explains that it develops articles 9 and 16 of Law 24/2013 and sets criteria to allocate network costs among consumers (BOE).
• Royal Decree 148/2021, of March 9, defines the methodology for calculating electricity system charges, that is, how concepts such as historical renewable premiums, insular extra costs, etc., are allocated among users. (BOE).
• Various Ministry orders (for example, Order TED/1312/2022 for 2023) set annually the specific values of those charges and other regulated costs.

4. Regulated tariff (PVPC) and household bill

The detailed design of the regulated tariff is set out in:

• Royal Decree 216/2014, of March 28, which establishes the methodology for calculating PVPC and its contracting regime (BOE). It has been amended by Royal Decree 469/2016 and partially affected by Royal Decree 184/2022, but remains the regulatory basis of PVPC.
• Subsequent CNMC resolutions and ministerial orders adjust the bill model, information on prices applied to consumers, and the incorporation of futures market references, especially after the PVPC reform starting in 2024.

Additionally, the Resolution of April 28, 2021 from the Directorate General of Energy Policy and Mines establishes the bill model for reference retailers (BOE), a key piece for transparency of the final price paid by users under PVPC.

5. Transmission, distribution, and retail activities

The detailed regime of these activities is set, with numerous subsequent amendments, by Royal Decree 1955/2000, of December 1, on transmission, distribution, retail, supply, and authorization of electrical installations (BOE). This royal decree develops the relationship between distribution and retail companies, conditions for access and connection to networks, and supply contracts, elements that influence how the energy price and tolls are passed on to the final consumer.

In summary, therefore, Law 24/2013 sets the general architecture and principles of sustainability and consumer protection; the CNMC, through circulars, regulates toll and wholesale market methodologies; and royal decrees such as RD 148/2021, RD 216/2014, and the historic RD 1955/2000 specify how tolls, charges, and regulated tariffs are calculated. This framework underpins the effective setting of electricity prices in Spain.