Spanish high-speed rail companies to buy energy together at fixed price

MADRID (Reuters) - Three high-speed rail companies in Spain have agreed to buy electricity together at a fixed price for the next six months in a bid to cut costs, one of the companies said on Thursday.

The high-speed train units of Spain's state-owned Renfe, France's SNCF and Italy's Trenitalia - AVE, Ouigo and Iryo, respectively - have agreed to settle their energy bills together for the last quarter of 2022 and the first quarter of next year, Renfe said.

The three companies agreed on a fixed price for the next six months in a range of 155 euros to 182 euros ($151 to $177) per megawatt-hour, local newspaper Expansion reported earlier on Thursday.

The rail operators opted for the fixed price instead of buying at fluctuating market prices.

The companies have communicated the decision to the state-owned Adif, which manages the railway network in Spain, Renfe added.

($1 = 1.0272 euros)

(Reporting by Corina Pons; Editing by David Latona and Mark Potter)