The cost of electricity
Electricity goes up in 2026: the 10-minute check almost nobody does
Every January the same thing happens: the bill goes up and nobody is quite sure why. This year there is a specific explanation, and also a part that does depend on you. We cover both.
Let us start with what you do not control. In 2026 electricity system charges rise by 10.5%. These charges are the part of the bill that pays for things like renewable subsidies and the system's historical debt. They are set by the Ministry and applied equally to every supply point, whoever your supplier is.
On top of that come the grid access charges, approved by the CNMC (the national regulator), which this year work out at around 1.3% on average for domestic tariffs. Less noisy, but it adds up.
How much is that in euros? The consumer association OCU has worked it out for a typical household: around €15 more a year. It is not a catastrophe, and that is worth saying. But there is one detail that does matter: almost all of that increase falls on the fixed part of the bill. The part you pay even if you go away for a month and never switch on a light.
And that is precisely the part where many people have been overpaying for years without knowing it.
63% of households pay for power they do not use
The potencia contratada (contracted power) is the maximum you can have running at once in your home. And it is a fixed cost: every contracted kilowatt costs around €60 a year, whether you use it or not.
In most of the bills we review here on the Costa del Sol we find the same thing: inherited power levels. Someone contracted 5.75 kW fifteen years ago because the house was used differently, or because the installer of the day pitched it high to keep life simple. Nobody has looked at it since.
Industry data suggests that around 63% of Spanish households are in that position. From what we see reviewing bills, that figure does not strike us as exaggerated.
And here is the striking part: reducing your contracted power costs €9.04 as a connection fee. Once. The saving can be around €50 or €60 a year, and it stays there for good.
Every kilowatt of contracted power costs around €60 a year, used or not.
How to tell whether you have too much power, without calling anyone
Take a bill and look for "potencia contratada", in kW. In homes the most common values are 3.45, 4.6 and 5.75 kW.
Now think of the worst moment of the day: oven on, hob going, washing machine, air conditioning and someone charging the car. If in that situation the main breaker has never tripped, you very probably have room to spare.
There is a DIY test: switch the power control breaker down yourself for a few days of normal use and see whether it trips. If it does not, you have margin.
Two warnings, because this is not entirely free. You can only change your contracted power once a year, so it is worth not overshooting. And if you have a heat pump, a pool or an electric car charger, the peaks are higher than they look: there it really is worth doing the sums before touching anything.
What actually changes the equation
Adjusting your contracted power and reviewing your tariff is all very well, but let us be honest: we are talking about €50 to €100 a year. It is money that stops leaking away, and it is the first thing we do with any client because it costs nothing. But it will not change your life.
What changes the order of magnitude is buying less energy in the first place. That is where self-consumption comes in, and there the numbers are different.
That said, the order matters. Fitting panels on top of a badly optimised bill is like replacing your windows without first fixing the door that will not close. First you sort out what you already pay. Then you decide whether generating makes sense.
If you fancy it, send us a bill and we will tell you what is surplus to requirements. No obligation and nobody ringing you afterwards to sell you anything.
