In this regard, as of that date, in accordance with the provisions of Royal Decree 216/2014,  Red Eléctrica publishes through its website, the hourly pricing schedules of ‘energy used’ that apply in electricity bills for consumers whose contracted power capacity does not exceed 10 kW and who have opted for PVPC.

What is the new Volunteer Price for the Small Consumer (PVPC)?

It is the new electricity price-setting system that has been introduced by the Government that is applied to the electricity bill of those consumers whose contracted power does not exceed 10 kW. The PVPC replaces the previous Last Resort Tariff (TUR).

As per before, the electricity bill will have two components:

  • The cost of producing electricity.

  • An amount fixed by the Ministry of Industry to pay for all the activities necessary to bring the electricity supply to our homes, as well as other costs borne by the electricity system.

With the new PVPC system the only modification is the method of calculating the price of producing electricity. From now on, the consumer will pay for their consumption over a billing period, the final price obtained in the electricity market; therefore the CESUR auctions previously used for establishing the price of energy will disappear.

Why does Red Eléctrica offer me this information and how do they make it available?

Red Eléctrica, as the transmission agent and operator of the Spanish electricity system, publishes daily the new electricity pricing schedules, as established in Royal Decree 216/2014 of 28 March.

From its position of independence and neutrality, Red Eléctrica keeps society informed, and does so with total transparency by providing citizens with a tool to help them manage their power consumption more efficiently. In this sense, it provides useful information to the consumer so that they can change their consumption habits, constantly adapting them to the price of energy, and therefore consume more intelligently.

At around 8:15 pm each day, Red Eléctrica, via its website, publishes the electricity pricing schedule that will be applied in each of the 24 hours of the following day. Prices are displayed according to three types of tariffs:

  • A.-General tariff.

  • B.-Nighttime tariff or hourly discrimination.

  • C.-Super-valley tariff (electric vehicle).

How will these new prices be applied to the consumer?

Those consumers who have a smart meter installed capable of hourly metering, will have these new prices applied to their bill in accordance with their hourly consumption throughout the day.

Therefore, having access to more information regarding hourly pricing schedules will allow those consumers with a smart meter to adjust their bill, if they adapt their electricity consumption to the time slots during the day when electricity is cheaper.

By 2018, 100% of residential consumers in our country shall have a smart meter installed, whereby these prices will be applied to the 16 million users who are covered by to the PVPC.

What happens if I don’t have a smart meter yet?

If you still do not have a smart meter installed in your home, and while the electricity companies install them, the hourly price tariff will generally be applied via a consumption profile that Red Eléctrica constantly updates, according to our patterns of behaviour as consumers. Consumption profiles are also published through Red Eléctrica’s corporate website.

LUMIOS Calculator

Red Eléctrica has implemented a system to calculate the cost of electricity for households that do not have a smart meter. This new tool, called LUMIOS, shows those consumers who still do not have a smart meter installed what will be the cost of the ‘energy used’ on their electricity bill, simply by introducing the billing period, the estimated kWh consumption at the tariff (general, nighttime and electric vehicle) and the consumption profile assigned.

This tool will help the small consumer (those who have opted for PVPC and whose contracted power capacity does not exceed 10 kW) to know how their new electricity bill is drawn up taking as a base the calculation methodology that came into force in April.

On 1 April, 2014, the new system, the ‘Voluntary Price for Small Consumer (PVPC)’, came into force for determining the cost of energy on the electricity bill.