BeClever, November 2024
Welcome to a new edition of BeClever, Clevergy's energy newsletter! We bring you the latest developments in the sector.
80% of Spaniards believe they can reduce their energy bill, but 40% do not know their consumption
According to a study recently published by Rastreator, eight in ten Spaniards are convinced that by changing their consumption habits they could reduce their electricity bill, while four in ten do not know what their electricity consumption is.
Since 2022, the number of Spaniards who switched electricity company to cut their costs has risen by 45%. In addition, a further 20% are considering switching utility if price rises continue.
Bill explained, virtual wallet and virtual battery
Clevergy's apps already provided users with highly valuable information on their consumption, along with very useful modules such as appliance-level disaggregation and the comparison with other households. But end users kept asking their utilities again and again: “I want to see my bill!”, “How can I review my contract?” and “What is the balance in my virtual wallet?”
At Clevergy we listened to the utilities and their customers, and we have launched three new modules that respond to these demands: the bill explained, the virtual wallet and virtual battery, and the contract viewer.
Prices every 15 minutes will be live in March but only in the intraday electricity market
The introduction of electricity prices every 15 minutes was scheduled for 2025. However, the president of OMIE (the Iberian Energy Market Operator), Carmen Becerril, recently announced that, from 18 March 2025, the intraday electricity market will be the only one with prices every 15 minutes. Its introduction in the day-ahead market is being postponed, although the operator is confident that the system will also be live in this market at some point during 2025.
Drop in self-consumption installations compared with 2023
Self-consumption installation has fallen by 15% over the first nine months of the year compared with the previous year's figures. By sector, the largest decline came in the industrial sector with a fall of 22%, while in the residential sector the drop was 5% and in the commercial sector 1%, according to UNEF data.
UNEF (the Spanish Photovoltaic Union) has proposed a series of measures to reactivate the sector, such as removing the obligation to install a net generation meter in certain cases where it may be redundant if the aim is to share surplus rather than generation, simplifying procedures, tax incentives, changes to the bill and the regulation of the role of behind-the-meter storage.
Solar generation increases
Spain has already generated as much solar energy in 2024 as in the whole of last year. This milestone was reached on 5 October, when the 37,472 GWh produced from solar energy in 2023 — already a record — were surpassed, according to data from Red Eléctrica. Solar energy has grown by 19% this year compared with the previous year, making it the third-largest source of electricity generation with 18% of the total.
Renewables are also reaching new records, since from January to 5 October 57.5% of electricity generation came from these sources.
Other news you should read
- The United Kingdom says goodbye to coal as a source of electricity generation, and Spain will do so in 2025
- Batteries and energy storage are becoming ever more important, and there is a Spanish company working on silicon batteries, a very promising alternative to lithium
- If you work at a utility, do not miss this article: 6 challenges electricity utilities must not ignore in 2025
