Banco Sabadell: According to information in the press, the EC in a report sent to the Council and the European Parliament is calling for the withdrawal of emergency interventions in the wholesale market, such as the cap on income in the electricity market (€180/MWh in Europe and €67/MWh in Spain) for infra-marginal technologies (renewable, hydro and nuclear). The EC considers that electricity price peaks are not expected next winter like those seen in 2022 and that such a measure would not be necessary, while considering that its implementation has been very heterogeneous, generating regulatory uncertainty and risks for renewable development. Thus, the potential benefits of the measure would not outweigh the impact on investment security.
Assessment: This is positive news that demonstrates Brussels’ commitment to minimising interference in the functioning of the marginal electricity market. In any case, the windfall profits cap measure in Spain (€67/MWh) would, a priori, be in force until the end of 2023. Moreover, it should be noted that for integrated companies the impact is limited given that they have, for the most part, bilateral contracts and would not apply. In the case of Acciona Energía, an elimination of this measure (for the whole of 2023) would have an impact of less than 3% on EBITDA.
