Electricity prices: these are the most expensive and cheapest hours on Thursday, May 12.

Despite the fact that the price of electricity during March did not stop breaking one record after another, registering its historical maximum on March 8 with 544.98 euros megawatt hour (MWh); the arrival of April and now May seems to have left that nightmare behind, as the bill returns to January and February levels confirming the stability in the regulated electricity tariff.So much so that the average price of the "pool" this Thursday stands at 187.27 euros megawatt hour (MWh), maintaining similar figures to those recorded this Wednesday, according to provisional data published by the Iberian Energy Market Operator (OMIE).The main reason for this decline is in renewable generation, especially in the irruption of photovoltaic energy, since during the month of April generation by photovoltaic panels increased by 52% over the same period of 2021, contributing to lower energy prices during central hours.In this line, last March 29, the Government approved a National Plan to face the impact of the war in Ukraine that includes a series of measures such as the tax reduction on the taxes levied on the electricity bill until next June 30 or the extension of the electricity social bonus to reach 1.9 million beneficiary households.Likewise, the governments of Spain and Portugal have obtained permission from Brussels to apply a mechanism to contain the cost of gas, in which Europe has established a limit of an average of 50 euros for one year, which will mean that the electricity market will not exceed 140 E/MWh. In addition, the average consumer's bill could fall by around 40%, having an effect mainly on users of the regulated tariff but also on those of the free market. In this sense, after the green light granted by the European Commission, the Government will approve this Friday the limit to lower the electricity bill.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 253% more expensive than the 53.04 euros/MWh of May 12, 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.