Gas and electric bills to rise 3%

Prices of electricity and gas will increase by 3% in April.

The announcement was made by the energy regulator ERSE on Tuesday and will affect families that are in the regulated market. The changes will take place on April 1.

The decision to increase household energy bills comes in the wake of months in which wholesale electricity prices have soared to record highs, now exacerbated by the current energy market instability resulting from the Russian invasion of Ukraine on 24 February.
The price of wholesale electricity will also increase by 5.6% to €263.65 per MWh which explains why the price hikes will inevitably be passed on to householders and some businesses which do not have pre-negotiated fixed price contracts.
Over the past few days the wholesale price of electricity has oscillated wildly at a time when the markets await the outcome of a fresh round of negotiations between Russia and Ukraine which might hold out the possibility of a ceasefire.
However, the price of a barrel of Brent crude and WTI fell 7% to less than US$100 as news of progress in negotiations and the prospect of extra supply from the Middle East filtered through. The price of wholesale natural gas also fell 35% in five days by Tuesday.
That said, the price of diesel fuel for consumers in Portugal is already more expensive than it was two weeks ago at 71 service stations across the country.
The average price of simple diesel has reached €2.045 a litre, while the cost of filling up an average diesel vehicle now costs €102.25.
Galp, a Portuguese energy provider, said it would increase prices from 15 April with monthly increases of up to €3 on natural gas and €2 on electricity.