Spanish Energy Suppliers Quietly Increase Potencia Charges While Electricity Prices Stay Stable

What is potencia?

Spanish electricity bills are made up of two main parts.

Energy consumption

This is the electricity you actually use, measured in kWh.

If you use more electricity, this part of the bill increases.

Potencia

This is the fixed daily charge you pay for the amount of power you have contracted.

Think of it as the fee you pay to reserve capacity from the electricity grid.

You pay this every day, whether you use electricity or not.

Most Spanish homes have two potencia periods:

Traditionally, P2 has been cheaper than P1.

What has changed?

Until a few weeks ago, many free-market fixed tariffs were commonly charging around:

P2 was not as low as the regulated PVPC-style charges, but it was still meaningfully cheaper than P1.

Now, we are seeing some suppliers move towards parity between the two periods.

This may not look dramatic at first glance, but the effect is important.

In this example:

The big change is not the P1 increase.

The big change is that the cheaper P2 period has almost disappeared.

Why does this matter?

Most consumers compare electricity tariffs by looking at the cost per kWh.

That is understandable, because it is usually the headline price shown in adverts.

But potencia is different.

Potencia is a fixed charge.

You pay it every day, whether you use electricity or not.

That means you cannot reduce this part of the bill simply by switching off lights, using appliances less, or being more careful with consumption.

The higher your contracted power, the more you feel the increase.

This particularly affects:

• Villas and larger homes
• Homes with electric heating
• Homes with air conditioning
• Properties with pool pumps
• Homes with EV chargers
• Solar homes with higher contracted power
• Any property with 5.75 kW, 6.9 kW, 8.05 kW, 9.2 kW or more contracted

Example: Home with 4.7 kW and 4,000 kWh per year

Let’s look at a typical Spanish home using:

• 4.7 kW contracted power
• 4,000 kWh annual consumption
• Energy price remaining stable at €0.12/kWh

Annual cost comparison

Net effect

The household has not used more electricity.

The energy price has not increased.

The rise comes entirely from the fixed potencia charges.

The effect is worse for homes with higher contracted power

A home with 4.7 kW may see an increase of around €74 per year in the example above.

But larger properties can be hit much harder.

This is why potencia matters.

A small-looking daily charge becomes a meaningful annual cost.

Why PVPC and indexed tariffs are different

PVPC and indexed-style tariffs work differently from most traditional fixed tariffs.

On many fixed tariffs, the supplier builds its margin into the tariff itself. This can include:

• The energy price
• The P1 potencia charge
• The P2 potencia charge

With PVPC and indexed-style tariffs, the potencia charges are usually much closer to the regulated amounts published through the BOE.

These regulated charges are limited by regulation, which is why the power costs can be much lower.

For example, a PVPC-style structure may show charges closer to:

These figures are not typical free-market fixed tariff prices.

They are much lower because they are linked to regulated charges.

Indexed tariffs usually have a monthly fee

This does not mean indexed tariffs are free of supplier margin.

The difference is how the supplier earns that margin.

Instead of adding large margins into the potencia charges, indexed suppliers usually charge a visible monthly management fee.

Typical examples include:

So the correct comparison is not simply:

"Which tariff has the lowest potencia?"

The correct comparison is:

"Which tariff has the lowest total annual cost once energy, potencia and monthly fees are all included?"

In many cases, even after adding the monthly fee, an indexed tariff can still work out cheaper than a fixed tariff that has increased P2 potencia heavily.

Already on a fixed tariff? You may be protected for now

If you recently signed up to a fixed-price electricity tariff, you may be protected until the end of your fixed contract term.

Many fixed tariffs in Spain protect the agreed prices for 12 months from the signup date.

That means if you joined before these recent potencia increases, you may still be paying the older, lower rates.

In that case, you may be lucky, for now.

However, this protection usually only lasts until the tariff renewal date.

If your renewal is soon, expect a possible increase

If your fixed tariff renewal date is approaching, you should pay close attention.

Many suppliers are now offering higher potencia charges than they were only a few weeks ago.

This means customers coming to the end of a fixed-price deal may see a rise at renewal, even if the advertised energy price per kWh does not change much.

The increase may appear quietly in the fixed charges rather than in the energy price.

Automatic renewal is normal in Spain

Many electricity contracts in Spain renew automatically.

In practice, this usually means:

• The customer remains supplied without interruption
• The contract rolls onto the supplier’s current conditions
• The new prices may apply from the renewal date
• Many customers only notice after receiving a bill with the new rates

Consumers often expect a clear warning letter, but in many cases renewal information may be included in routine communications, emails, online account notices or bill text.

This means it can easily be missed.

The safest approach is to check your tariff before the renewal date, not after.

Why solar homes need to be careful

Solar households often focus heavily on:

• Import price
• Export compensation
• Virtual battery or solar wallet
• Daytime energy cost

These are important, but they are not the whole picture.

Some solar tariffs offer attractive export compensation but charge higher import prices or higher potencia.

If a household has high contracted power, the extra standing charges can reduce or even wipe out the benefit of better solar export compensation.

For solar homes, the best tariff depends on the whole calculation:

• Annual import
• Annual export
• Export compensation
• Battery usage
• Potencia P1
• Potencia P2
• Monthly fees
• Whether solar paperwork is fully registered

What consumers should compare

Before switching, do not compare only the headline kWh price.

Always compare: