“Let’s be clear and the chocolate is thick” We have helped you understand how a mortgage works and now we are going to try to do the same with your electricity bill.
Do you want to know once and for all how it works and what you should do to save with the change of the new bill? Let's take a look. This way you can stop worrying about the news about the rise in the price of electricity. In addition, it is possible that they will not even affect you, depending on the contract you have.
How the electricity bill works
Your electricity bill includes many items that you may not have heard of. Fortunately, they can be reduced to just four:
- The power term, which is the contracted power.
- The consumption term, which is what you use and is determined by the price of electricity.
- Taxes, which are divided between the Electricity Tax and VAT.
- The rental of the counter.
The new electricity tariff affects the first two elements and, above all, consumption through the price of electricity. This price is set by four elements:
- Infrastructure charges.
- Transport and distribution tolls.
- Taxes.
- The cost of energy.
The new electricity bill establishes new tolls depending on when you consume . In other words, you will pay more or less depending on when you decide to plug in your electrical appliances .
The aim of this change is to reward individuals for consuming during the hours of the day when there is less demand and the price of electricity is also cheaper.
To achieve this, the six previous tariffs have been unified into one for all homes with a contracted power of less than 15 kW and a voltage not exceeding 1KV. That is, almost all private flats and houses.
The first major change in the new electricity bill is that all these homes will operate on a time-of-use basis .
The time slots of the new electricity bill
What does it mean that all households will have time discrimination? Well, basically, there will be some hours when electricity will be more expensive than others. Specifically, the new electricity tariff establishes three different schedules:
- Peak period , when electricity is more expensive. It is from Monday to Friday from 10:00 to 14:00 and from 18:00 to 22:00.
- Flat section , when the price of electricity is normal. It is divided into three bands: from 08:00 to 10:00 hours, from 14:00 to 18:00 hours and from 22:00 to 24:00 hours.
- Off-peak period , when energy is cheaper. It is from midnight to 8:00 a.m. and 24 hours a day on weekends and holidays.
With these rates, you may be wondering if you are going to have to put the washing machine on at night to save on the new electricity bill. Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, that is not the objective of the rate change.
You will have to adapt your consumption, but only if the new rates affect you. Not all consumers will notice the change in the same way. 
Who is affected by the change in electricity rates?
In theory, the new tariff structure will affect all households. In practice, it will all depend on your current tariff.
With a free market rate
This is the most common type of tariff, with around 60% having it. These are tariffs with a fixed price for electricity and no time discrimination. If your tariff is from the free market, your company should have already notified you about how the change will affect you.
For now, most companies are choosing to maintain prices and flat rates so you can consume as and when you want. However, this convenience can be offset by a higher price for electricity.
With a rate in the regulated market
These are the PVPC or regulated price rates, which are all governed by the new electricity time slots. In this case, the change will affect you no matter what. How? It will depend on the type of rate you have.
- Without time discrimination . If you had a rate without time discrimination (with a single time slot), your rate will now have the three slots you just saw. According to Ingebau 's calculations , this change represents a saving of 5 euros per month for an average household without having to make too many adjustments to the way they consume electricity.
- With time discrimination. If your rate already had time discrimination, you will go from having two bands to the three bands you have seen. In your case, if you maintain your consumption patterns as you have until now, your electricity bill will be between 6 and 7 euros more per month.
What can you do to save with the new rate?
The answer depends on the rate you have contracted . If you have a flat rate on the free market, you can start by comparing prices to find out if it is worth switching to the regulated market.
The National Commission of Markets and Competition (CNMC) has prepared a tool that works like a simulator where you can start your search.
However, keep in mind that if you change, you will have to adapt your consumption to the new schedules. In other words, you can save money in exchange for losing comfort.
Adapting your consumption habits is the first piece of advice for users with a regulated market rate. To what extent should you adapt them? Of course, you could put the dishwasher and the rest of the appliances on at 12 at night to save, but it doesn't seem optimal. Adapting consumption means avoiding the most expensive hours for electricity and consuming in the flat and valley periods. In fact, you have a whole weekend to do it at the lowest price without disturbing the neighbours.
And there is nothing else you can do? Of course there is. There are four more tips that will help you save, as explained by Preahorro :
- Check if you have contracted a higher electrical power than you need . This is usually the case. To check this, you can plug in the appliances in your home until the power comes on. Would you normally plug in so many at the same time? Then your power may be excessive. In addition, the new rate allows you to choose two different powers, one for when you do not consume electricity and another for when you do (for example, at the weekend).
- Install power strips to control standby . Just by changing this you will save around 100 euros a month.
- Control the temperature in your home . In both summer and winter, maintaining a reasonable temperature will help you save. A thermostat is the best way to do this.
- Use LED bulbs . They consume less and last longer than other options.
Follow these four tips and you'll be able to use just the right amount of energy without getting into trouble with your neighbors.
Another great saving factor has to do with the energy efficiency of your home. And at Hipotecas.com we have a product specially designed for you: Green with very advantageous conditions for green mortgages. Discover them!