Las reformas presentes y futuras del mercado eléctrico, a propósito del gas

The text deals with the importance of gas in the European electricity system and, particularly in the Spanish one; the standards that have been adopted and modified to ensure the availability of firm power provided to the system; the impact that the increase in the price of this fuel has had on the rise in the price of electricity. A large part of the debates on the design of the electricity market due to the emergency we experienced in 2021, 2022 and the first half of 2023, such as the use of the uniform price auctions to set the marginal price, have already taken place in the past. It underlines the importance of competitive markets to be worthy of the name in the European Union. Finally, I argued the risks of over-relying on regulation to determine the prices of scarce products, taking into account the proven capacity of the markets to do so and send investment signals, and recommend a pause in regulation, with the adoption of fiscal and public spending measures, to gain time for rapid reform; but thought out unhurriedly.