Electricity costs

I have been shocked by the increase in my Elecrcity bills this winter.   As i get my bills online i was able to compare with twelve months ago. My supplier is HC Energia grupo edp.  On checking my tarriff  i found  the following.

I have a day time 12.00 to 10.00 pm and a night time tariff 10.00pm to 12.00 mid day. on checking i found that the day tarriff has been increased  from 10 to 16   an increase of 60% and the night from 4 to 9  an increase of125% these figures have decimal points in front of them but to keep it simple i have rounded them up .I contacted HC energia and was given  a long explanation about the way the goverment charges for power  which failed to convince me that even a Spanish Goverment would  hike prices to that extent. If anyone on the forum could assist or advise what course of action i shoud take i would be grateful,or if they have had similar problems

I've been told we have to budget 30% higher for our Community electricity costs this year after a government announcement.

You obviously don't know the Spanish government well.

How about cutting the use of electricity at home? Maybe you can unplug appliances when not in use. Apply solar panels at home and change the regular light bulbs into LED lights. You can also install a hammock in your backyard or garden patio if there's a good shed. 

According to many posters on this forum the cost of living in Spain is cheap ..I have owned a villa in Spain for the last 10 year's that I use for holidays ...and can tell you the only things that are cheaper in Spain are alcohol and that filthy habit that some people have called smoking ..everything els is either much more expensive or the same price as the UK.But if you can prove me wrong surely the savings you have made on other day to day running costs of your place in the sun can be offset against your high electric bill.

Never mind the cost of electricity, apparently you can install a hammock if you have a good shed. Good news!

You gotta love this forum! 

I googled "energy switching in Spain" and came across this,

http://www.iberswitch.com/wp/

" Thank you for visiting our website. At Iberswitch we are dedicated to offering cost saving alternatives to the ex-pat community whilst providing a solution to any language issues our clients may experience. Acting as a bridge between customer and supplier, we remove the stress involved with dealing with large and impersonal organisations. "

I looked at that site, and in the FAQs found this: 

Q. How much do I pay Iberswitch to switch me from company to company?

A. You pay nothing whatsoever to join our service but once connected we charge a small management fee of €26.50 every 6 months which covers you for all subsequent switching. This is charged in January and July each year.

I'm not saying this service is not suitable for anyone, but rather like the infamous telefonicainspain, they are basically charging for something that with just a little bit of effort and initiative most people could almost certainly do themselves - for free.

Plus, they don't install hammocks, so to me they're dead in the water 

Valid point Roberto but maybe for those who struggle with language this might be an option? Perhaps someone who has used this company might advise on its performance and effectiveness?.

Shame there is no equivalent site as the Martin Lewis site in Spain, as he is a great advocate of switching energy companies in the UK, which has resulted in greater competitiveness and gradual reform of the energy sector ( and accountability in terms of tackling areas where customer service was lacking).

Still much to do in this regard but anything that provides greater flexibility to switch companies and in that process make savings, whilst also aim to better protect those more financially vulnerable is a welcome addition.

Early days in that regard in Spain, but from little acorns mighty oaks grow and hopefully looking to best practice elsewhere on occasions and replicating or tailoring such could prove advantageous not only for expats but for Spanish  nationals also. :)

We'll, there are comparison sites, like http://www.rastreator.com so there's probably something similar for energy providers as well - but you do need a certain level of Spanish.

You are not wrong there Windy - the cost of living in Spain is quite a lot higher than in UK now in many respects. I have been considering returning to UK for business reasons after many years in Spain and on a recent excursion to look at property, I took notice of UK prices generally (for the first time) and was genuinely surprised at the choices and competitive prices of most commodities - especially food and cars. However the main thing that struck me was the ease and speed of dealing with govenment departments and having immediate access to business facilties such as internet comparison sites and on-line suppliers. Being able to get everything I want during the day in UK - knowing the suppliers will be open is also a plus for me. Please don't get me wrong I am not denigrating Spain - it's just a huge cultural gap between the two countries that prevents Spain wanting to update it's systems and its way of conducting business -the facilities are here but just not used. I love Spain but it is struggling financially and I believe it will get worse. Will I return to UK? I don't know...........

The CNMC have an energy suppliers comparison site.  Look up: comparador ofertas energia cnmc

I want to put my two penneth on here because I have been trying to switch also, without using the coning site. Anyway I did find a company much cheaper than Iberdrolla, cant remember their name but they are Portugese. After many phone calls to different numbers they said they dont supply Spain?

I was not the easiest thing I have ever tried to do anyway but after that I gave up.

I have decided to stick where I am for the moment but apart from their price they are very good, their website is in English, they have English people working for them, my bills are in English so I cant complain too much.

I will be following in case someone has so good advise and puts in on here.

Sue

Hi, have been reading your posts re electricity. One thing that amazes me and my hubby is that Spain does not use the one thing it is famed for to reduce its high electricity costs, solar power. Even in Scotland, which rarely gets much sun, we are seeing more and more houses getting solar panels fitted. Surely it makes sense to use something that is technically free.

Unless the laws have recently changed and I havent heard then it is not allowed. I heat my water by solar at virtually zero cost but to actually use its  electric you have to be a long way from mains supply or face an enormous bill. If you do it without their permission you are also fined a lot of money. I did look into this a long time ago now, maybe 3-4 years so things may have changed but not to my knowledge.

Suemayhuw don't go telling to many people that you are generating your own hot water via solar power as it is taxable in Spain  and you will also need planning permission for the installation ...I am sure Lott's of people on rod can give you more information on this .

Am I reading this correctly? You have to have planning permission to install a couple of solar panels and you can be fined for using the power they generate if you don't have planning and any power generated is taxable? I'm sure the last two posters know the rules - but it just sounds so crazy. Is this the case?

You need permission to do most things in Spain, it's how they generate revenues.

Any yes, bizarrely you are taxed on electricity you generate from solar.

Only in Spain.

Spain has recently been voted no. 1 holiday destination but scored very low on a place to do business.

Windtalker, I have planning permission thanks, along with the rest of my urbanisation who have the same.

Windtalker.  don't go telling to many people that you are generating your own hot water via solar power as it is taxable in Spain

I cannot find anywhere that solar heated water (no  electric generation involved) is taxable.

I have had a solar water heater for about 17 years.  It is free standing on my terrace so I do not think it needs any approval. If it were on the roof then I guess community approval and a building licence from town hall,  

It is still going strong and works very well.

I think the original proposal was for a tax on photovoltaic solar energy NOT heated water.

There is some evidence though that they may have seen sense and scrapped the tax.

http://www.mariscal-abogados.com/sun-tax-on-photovoltaic-systems-in-spain/