EDP will reduce a component of the price of electricity and gas, resulting in an average drop of 7% in the monthly electricity bill and 14% in the gas bill, starting in June.
"Due to improved conditions in the energy markets, EDP Comercial will reduce its energy price component, called 'Energy and Commercial Structure', by 10% in electricity and 20% in natural gas, as of 1 June," said an official EDP Comercial source.
"These reductions mean an average drop of 7% in the monthly electricity bill and 14% in the gas bill," explained the same source.
The price of electricity is made up of three parts. The first, which is at stake here, refers to the price at which energy is sold; the second concerns the networks, which are needed to get the energy to consumers - and this is set by the regulator in December each year, although there may be exceptional revisions during the year. Finally, there are taxes and charges, which are also out of the hands of the electricity company.
In the case of gas, the structure is basically the same: network access tariffs, energy tariffs and taxes. Recently, the regulator, which sets the price of access to networks, announced that tariffs for access to low-pressure networks (i.e. for domestic customers) are expected to rise by an average of 1.5% in October, and the regulator's proposal will be under discussion until next June.