Bills soar as Spain approaches record for electricity prices

MADRID (AP) — Households and businesses in Spain will be thinking twice about using appliances and switching on lights starting Thursday when the country sees a new record for the cost of electricity. The electricity market operator for the Iberian Peninsula says customers in both Spain and Portugal will pay an average of 140 euros, or $165 dollars, for a megawatt-hour of electricity. Consulting firm EnergyLive says that will give the two countries the highest prices in Europe, closely followed by Italy. Spaniards have felt the pinch of rising electricity prices all summer. The previous record of 103 euros per megawatt-hour was set on Jan. 11, 2002.