Electricity prices: these are the most expensive and cheapest hours on Thursday, May 5

Although the price of electricity during March did not stop breaking one record after another, recording its all-time high on March 8 with 544.98 euros megawatt hour (MWh), the arrival of April and now May seems to have left behind that nightmare, as the bill returns to levels below 200 euros per megawatt confirming the stability in the regulated electricity tariff.So much so that the average price of the "pool" this Thursday stands at 190.77 euros megawatt hour (MWh), which is eleven euros more than that recorded on Wednesday, returning again to levels below 200 euros/MWh, according to provisional data published by the Iberian Energy Market Operator (OMIE).This decrease is mainly due to the irruption of photovoltaic energy, as it has contributed to lower prices during the central hours of some days such as last April 10, when between 15:00 and 19:00 hours, prices collapsed to almost zero, a situation that was repeated on the 23rd.Likewise, Spain and Portugal have obtained permission from Brussels to apply a containment mechanism in the cost of gas, in which Europe has established a limit of an average of 50 euros for a year, which will mean that the electricity market will not exceed 140 E/MWh. In addition, the average consumer bill could fall by around 40%, having an effect mainly on users of the regulated tariff but also on those of the free market.Regardless of these measures and factors to alleviate the cost of electricity, the escalation of prices in the electricity bill is a reality that has been affecting thousands of citizens since last year. So much so, that the levels continue to mark very high records compared to last year, given that this Thursday the price will be 152% more expensive than the 75.71 euros/MWh of May 5, 2021.This exponential increase that has suffered the cost of the megawatt hour of electricity has also made more and more people trying to find cheaper alternatives or new methods that make them achieve savings in the electricity bill at the end of the month.According to data provided by OMIE, these will be the most expensive and cheapest hours:The electricity bill is calculated using two prices, the one paid for the contracted power and the price resulting from the kilowatts consumed during the month.The tariff created by the Spanish Government last July created a certain lack of control for the population in general, since by establishing a series of brackets, those people who do not have an agreed tariff with their distributor, suffered and still suffer today notable changes in the price depending on the time of the day. In this sense, the high electricity prices have a direct impact on the almost 11 million users in Spain who are covered by the regulated tariff, i.e., the so-called PVPC, and also serve as a reference for the other 17 million who contract their supply in the free market.