Next year, electricity bills for over a million customers, those still in the regulated market, will drop 3.5% following an Energy Services Regulatory Entity (ERSE) decision announced on Monday, December 17.
This is a swing to the positive, a revision of the ERSE October proposal, which had envisaged a 0.1% rise in tariffs.
This reduction of 3.5% represents a decrease of €1.58 on a monthly invoice of €45.10, according to the regulator.
Consumers in the regulated market currently amount to around 6% of the total, according to ERSE, leaving 94% in the same position as in 2018 apart from a reduction in network access tariffs which will have a double-digit reduction of, "16.7% for the Low Voltage Normal and 10.6% for the remaining voltage levels," adds the ERSE.
These tariffs are paid by all consumers so all regulated and non-regulated market customers will benefit.
For those low-income customers on the Social Tariff, ERSE states that, "these consumers will benefit from a discount of 33.8%,” according to an order from the government.
The 3.5% fall, the second largest in the last 20 years, will impact 1.15 million domestic customers in the regulated market. The vast majority though, more than 5 million, already have moved across to the liberalised market due to punishing price increases for staying with EDP.
Environment Minister, José Matos Fernandes, predicted in November that electricity prices could fall 3.5% but did not make it clear that this was for such a small percentage of customers.
