The big industry finalizes its massive purchases of cheap light despite the fiasco of the renewable auctions

After the failure of the renewable energy auction organized by the Government, the big industry go ahead with your plans to carry out your own contest in which the electro-intensive consumers cross offers with renewable energy producers. The Association of Large Energy Consumption Companies (AEGE), which has designed the process in collaboration with the operator of the Iberian electricity market (OMIE), plans to hold the bid in the first trimester of this year, as stated on Monday by its CEO, Pedro Gonzalezduring a forum organized in the Congress of Deputies.

The organization, which brings together companies such as Arcelor Mittal or Asturiana de Zincfor whom energy accounts for almost half of their costs in some cases, has been organizing this contest for months (originally scheduled for September), but it has been delayed due to the uncertainty derived from the war. The 80% of these types of companies they buy their energy directly in the electricity market (the so-called ‘pool’), for which the current high prices that multiply by five pre-pandemic figures. The objective, therefore, is to power purchase contracts that guarantee both parties a fixed price, lower than the market, during 12 years. and one of his great attractions is that consumers will have the endorsement of the State, through the Spanish Reserve Fund for Guarantees of Electro-intensive Entities (FERGEI).

This massive purchase of energy will have a big difference compared to the competitions organized by the Government and it is that it will not have a Maximum pricewhat is known as Reserve price. This reduces the possibility of failureaccording to the director of technology, innovation and new developments of the Iberian market operator OMIE, Pedro Basagoiti. “Many bids (in the auction organized by the Ministry for the Ecological Transition) were not matched because the prices were much higher (at reserve price). There are no reserve prices here. Buyers and sellers have an idea of ​​future prices. I understand that there will be enough offers and buyers will have to focus on how far they can go,” Basagoiti explained.

The formula used is the same as that of the Government bids, by playing with the price of energy, so that the promoters ask for an amount for the energy that they generate in their plants and the consumers launch offers for the price they would be willing to pay and until some figures coincide with others. But then another one occurs big difference regarding public renewable auctions, and it is that the producers will receive the amount of money proposed, while the consumers will pay the average price to the one who was left in the auction, as long as this is below his offer.

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The last big difference with the usual renewable auctions is that not all the renewable park will have to go to the auctionbut the producers will be able to leave a part of the production for your sale to the market. In other words, a 50 megawatt wind farm, the producer can auction 45 megawatts and sell the remaining 5 megawatts on the market. Industry sources suggest that it could be 20-30% of the park, although this point remains to be clarified.

“(These auctions) have an unquestionable advantage which is the predictability and stability with obligations of power delivery by the producers and payment by consumers & rdquor ;, explained Hermenegildo Altozanopartner of the law firm Bird & Bird. “And the added advantage in view of what has happened with the regulation in recent months that there are ‘clawback’ mechanisms (reduction of extraordinary benefits from renewable and nuclear production) bilateral contracts already signed are exempt& rdquor ;, added Altozano.

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