Galp keeps electricity prices unchanged, gas goes up in July

Portuguese energy provider Galp will maintain the price of electricity from  July 1 but will increase the value of natural gas, which will go up by about €3.60 for the most representative bracket, it announced on Tuesday.

“The final price of electricity will remain the same, reflecting the reduction of network access tariffs, announced by the Energy Services Regulatory Authority [ERSE], and the increase in electricity costs in the wholesale market,” a note sent to customers said that was seen by Lusa.

According to the same document, the price of natural gas will be increased.

An official source of the company told Lusa that this update would reflect the increase in the purchase cost in line with the evolution of the product on the international market.

“The increase in question will be around €3.60 for the average Galp customer,” the source said.

Galp also said it recognised the current context’s impact on customers’ bills and that the integrated offer “allows for monthly savings,” which exceed the announced rise.

On 27 May, an official source from EDP Comercial told Lusa that it would reduce tariffs, on average, by 2.6% from July, after having updated them “exceptionally in May”.

In April, the Energy Services Regulatory Authority (ERSE) released an exceptional proposal to lower electricity prices on the regulated market by 2.6% from July, it said in a statement.

ERSE also said that “compared to the average price in 2021, consumers would see a 1.1% increase in the final sale price in 2022 (prices in 2022 include the tariff decision of January 2022, the quarterly review that took place on 1 April 2022 and the proposal presented here with prices to take effect from 1 July 2022).

It added that “domestic electricity consumers have seen a reduction” of “3.7% in the final price in five years. Consumers with social tariffs continue to benefit from a discount of 33.8%.