Power term
What is it? How much do you have to pay? And most importantly: how can you save on your electricity bill?
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All the information on power terms
Find out what the ‘power term’ on your electricity bill is, how it is calculated and why it directly affects the fixed amount you pay each month.
1. What is the power term?
The term ‘power charge’ refers to the amount you pay on your electricity bill for the power you have contracted.
This charge is the fixed cost on your bill; in other words, you will always pay the same amount, regardless of how many kilowatts you use. You can see the price of the power charge on your electricity bill.
What do the power terms P1 and P2 refer to?
Your bill may show two different prices, as suppliers allow you to sign up for two different power tariffs to suit off-peak and peak periods, so that you can save money at the end of the month.
If you are a customer of an electricity supplier that is part of the Free Market, you should be aware that these suppliers are the ones that set the capacity charge.
However, if you are part of the regulated market on a PVPC tariff, the price will be set by the Government.
To save on your bill, you can choose two power levels for each band:
- During peak hours, which are the most expensive, a lower power rating.
- During off-peak hours, a higher power rating allows you to run more electrical appliances at the same time and take advantage of the fact that electricity is cheaper at these times.
2. Capacity charge
The price of the power charge will depend on the tariff you have chosen to sign up for.
Where can you find this information? Take a look at your electricity bill or download it if you have the app, and you’ll see the item ‘Contracted power’ or ‘Power charge’.
3. What power options are available?
Power ratings are calculated and contracted in bands and represent the number of kilowatts you contract when you set up your electricity supply. These bands vary depending on the type of installation in your home: single-phase or three-phase.
Here are the power brackets that domestic customers can sign up for:
| Instalación Monofásica | Instalación Trifásica |
|---|---|
| 1.15 kW | 3.464 kW |
| 2.3 kW | 6.928 kW |
| 3.45 kW | 10.392 kW |
| 4.6 kW | 13.856 kW |
| 5.75 kW | 17.321 kW |
| 6.9 kW | 20.785 kW |
| 8.05 kW | 24.249 kW |
| 9.2 kW | 27.713 kW |
| 10.35 kW | 31.177 kW |
| 11.5 kW | 34.641 kW |
| 14.49 kW | 43.648 kW |
One change introduced by the Government in 2018 – and one that is a positive development – was allowing users to adjust the power output in increments of 0.1 kW.
Why are we telling you this? Because if you need to reduce your contracted power, you won’t have to move down to the next lowest bracket (where you might end up with insufficient power and trip the fuses). For example, if you’re in the 4.6 kW bracket, instead of moving down to 3.45 kW, you’ll move down to 4.4 kW.
4. Power-based pricing with Iberdrola
The price of the contracted capacity with Iberdrola is the fixed cost on your bill; in other words, whatever your kilowatt consumption, the cost of the capacity remains the same month in month out.
As a general rule, homes and small premises use a number of electrical appliances that do not require electricity tariffs exceeding 10 kW. These tariffs are cheaper than those required by larger businesses.
However, as we do not believe this to be the case for your home, here is a table showing all of Iberdrola’s tariffs and the price per unit of power for the two periods:
| Hasta 10 kW | Hora Valle | Hora Punta |
|---|---|---|
| Plan Estable | 4,33 €/kW año | 32,36 €/kW año |
| Plan Elige 8h | 4,33 €/kW año | 32,36 €/kW año |
| Plan Noche | 4,33 €/kW año | 32,36 €/kW año |
| Plan Verano | 4,33 €/kW año | 32,36 €/kW año |
| Plan Invierno | 4,33 €/kW año | 32,36 €/kW año |
| Plan 3 periodos | 4,33 €/kW año | 32,36 €/kW año |
| Plan Vehículo ELéctrico | 5,49 €/kW año | 32,26 €/kW año |
5. Electricity pricing with Gana Energía
| Hasta 10 KW | Hora valle | Hora punta |
|---|---|---|
| 2.0TD Precio estable TG | 21,35 €/KW año | 48,77 €/KW año |
| 2.0TD Sin más | 1,42 €/KW año | 26,78 €/KW año |
| 2.0TD Online TG | 21,35 €/KW año | 48,77 €/KW año |
6. How to save on your electricity bill by managing your power charge
You can save on your electricity bill by signing up for the amount of power you actually need.
If you’ve signed up for more power than you need, you’ll end up paying more than necessary on your electricity bill at the end of the month.
And what does that mean? Well, that means fewer savings for you. And given the current cost of electricity, it’s good to keep this fixed cost – the power charge – ‘under control’.
If you’ve signed up for less power than you actually need based on your usage patterns, your fuses are bound to blow all the time. This is because the amount of power reaching your home is less than what you’re trying to use at any one time.
So you’re going to have to think about increasing it or changing your usage habits so that you don’t use so many electrical appliances at the same time.
Be that as it may, think it through carefully, as both increasing and decreasing the power output comes at a cost.
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