In Uruguay, where hydroelectric energy has a great contribution, in times of drought like the one experienced this summer, higher production costs are generated.
He energy spot price it increased, so far this year, more than 100% in relation to its total value of 2022, showed the energy indicators for the month of March, published by SEG Engineering.
According to the report of the consultancy dedicated to the reduction of energy costs in Uruguay, so far this year, the spot price of electricity increased by 111.7%, compared to last year’s values. The average annual value for 2022 was $80.2/MWhwhile, until March of this year, the value is 160.2 USD/MWh. Regarding the interannual average value, it is 88.37 USD/MWh.
In this case, the drought played an important role in increasing the spot price value. This is due to the fact that Uruguay is a country with great water participation in the production of energy and the drought causes this to be compensated. fall with the production of thermal energy, This causes marginal costs to increase.
The spot price of electricity, or also known as marginal cost, is one of the main indicators of the electricity market and a sign of the condition that one has to adapt between supply and demand. The spot price represents the cost of supplying an additional kilowatt-hour (kWh) to the electrical system.
How much energy did UTE import from Brazil?
Faced with the increase in marginal costs, the increase in consumption in the summer due to heat and drought, since the National Administration of Electric Power Plants and Transmissions (UTE) decided to import energy from Brazil, reaching 30% in February, while in March it provided a similar percentage: 29.1%.
This is because import costs from Brazil turned out to be cheaper than domestic energy production due to challenging weather conditions. The price of energy coming from Brazil ranged between 60 and 100 dollars per megawatt-hour (MWh)this is up to three times cheaper than a MWh of thermal generation for UTE.
Source: Ambito
