Iberdrola Drained 2 Reservoirs In W. Spain To Maximize Profit While Electricity Prices Were High

[hatrack]

The Spanish government has launched an inquiry after it emerged that a power company drained two reservoirs during a heatwave and drought in order to profit from exceptionally high electricity prices. Iberdrola, the country’s second biggest producer, drained the dams in Zamora and Cáceres provinces in western Spain over a period of a few weeks to produce cheap hydroelectricity while the price to consumers is at a record high.

Air conditioners and fans are going flat out as Spain remains in the grip of a heatwave. It recorded its highest ever temperature on Saturday, 47.2C (117F), in Córdoba in Andalucía. The minister for ecological transition, Teresa Ribera, described Iberdrola’s actions as scandalous and has written to the company. “This can’t be allowed to happen,” she said in a televised interview. “Water is a scarce resource which is just as important for the wellbeing of families and the economy as it is for generating electricity.”

Ribera said she viewed Iberdrola’s actions as irresponsible, but that they were not illegal because the companywas allowed to use a fixed quantity of water a year whenever it wished and regardless of climatic conditions.

EDIT

A base price is set by the cost of nuclear power and renewables such as wind and solar, because they are the cheapest, and then the rest – hydro and fossil fuel generators – make their bid. The net effect is that the higher the demand, the higher the price, with fluctuations making it almost impossible for consumers to budget for their electricity bill. Draining the reservoirs to accelerate hydroelectricity production put Iberdrola in a position to bid for a bigger slice of the cake.

EDIT

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/aug/15/spain-launches-inquiry-after-dams-drained-for-profit-amid-heatwave

[captain queeg]

1. Money is obviously a factor but demand is what drives operations

Since there is a heat wave there I assume folks were happy to be running their ACs.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

2. When the demand is there, the utility has to supply the power.

There's no bank you can go to and borrow some spare electrons. Every other system around you is facing high demand too.

If the utilities don't drain the reservoirs to keep the turbines spinning, the power on the line gets out of spec. Per Google:

In Spain the standard voltage is 230 V and the frequency is 50 Hz.

You can't let the frequency drop, and you can't let the voltage drop. If either of those happens, equipment on the demand side will be adversely affected.

You have to use the water when the demand is there. That's why they call it a reservoir.