Spain's wholesale electricity market drops below zero for four midday hours on 27 September 2026. The daily average falls 12.99%, but the evening peak reaches 196.64 euros per megawatt hour.
OMIE's table puts Spain's lowest hourly average at -0.05 euros per megawatt hour from 13:00 to 14:00 on Sunday, 27 September 2026. Four straight hours fall below zero. By 20:00, the market reaches 196.64 euros/MWh.
The swing is real.
By 27 September 2026, Spain had recorded 684.25 hours with wholesale prices below zero during the year—10.6% of all hours—and 115 days with at least one negative-price period.
World Power Monitor also confirms the negative hourly prices and the 27 September average. According to OMIE, the day's average is 113.65 euros/MWh. That is 12.99% below Saturday's 130.62 euros/MWh.
The lower average does not make the whole day cheap. Prices stay high through much of the night, then climb after the afternoon low. One market summary lists a daily maximum of about 210.26 euros/MWh, showing how wide the day's gap can be.
The negative stretch runs from 12:00 to 16:00. The 12:00-13:00, 14:00-15:00 and 15:00-16:00 slots each average -0.01 euros/MWh. The 13:00-14:00 hour records the lowest figure.
A wider low-price window runs from 11:00 to 17:00. All six hours in that period stay below 2 euros/MWh in the wholesale table.
The evening rise is concentrated. The 19:00-20:00 hour reaches 193.74 euros/MWh. The next hour rises to 196.64 euros/MWh. Prices remain high at 185.26 euros/MWh from 21:00 to 22:00.
The pattern of the day follows a familiar intraday structure for a power system with strong solar generation: the lowest prices arrive around midday, while the market rises toward the evening demand peak. Negative wholesale prices are therefore part of a broader daily swing rather than an indication that electricity remains cheap throughout the day.
The early hours are costly too. From midnight to 01:00, the average is 183.81 euros/MWh. It then falls through the morning to 158.67 euros/MWh between 05:00 and 06:00.
By 09:00-10:00, the average is 83.31 euros/MWh. It drops to 15.09 euros/MWh in the following hour.
That is the catch.
These are wholesale prices, not the final amount on a household bill. A negative hourly quotation does not make it free to run a washing machine. A customer will not automatically be paid for using electricity.
Red Eléctrica says the PVPC calculation also uses forward-market references and other components. Household bills include extra charges. A fixed-price contract works differently from a variable tariff.
The wholesale table can show when electricity is cheapest on the market. It cannot replace the terms of an individual supply contract.
The wider household-cost picture was covered in an earlier energy report. Wholesale prices and the final bill are not the same measure.
For consumers, the clearest low-price window in the wholesale data is 11:00 to 17:00. The most expensive period is the evening peak. Any shift in household use must follow the tariff contract, not the headline figure alone.
Negative prices are real in Spain's wholesale market. Their value for a household depends on how its electricity contract is priced.
