ELECTRICITY for homes and small businesses will be charged by the hour
from July 1, meaning peak and off-peak rates will apply to everyone and not
just those who have applied for the so-called 'white tariff' where costs differ
throughout the day and night.
All premises which have a digital, remotely-managed meter will
automatically be switched to the hourly charge system, and the cost of each
day's consumption will appear online from 20.15hrs for customers to check.
Where
a digital meter has not yet been fitted, the electricity board, Iberdrola, has
until October 1 to do so.
The
hourly tariff will apply to all those with a power supply of less than 10kW.
It
will allow customers to calculate more easily which appliances use up more
energy and to what extent, because they will be able to compare online what
they use each day and relate it to the white goods, lights, boilers, or other
gagdets they have had in use.
This
has come about after Spain's 'business police', the National Commission of
Markets and Competition complained that the new meters, being rolled out across
the country, did not allow customers to tell in real time how much electricity
they were using unless they literally sat in front of them all day.
The
price per kilowatt (kW) of power used per hour only affects 37% of the
consumer's bill, whilst 25% relates to taxes including IVA, and the remaining
38% are standing charges.
New
hourly tariffs can only be administered by commercial suppliers Iberdrola,
Endesa, Gas Natural Fenosa, EDP España and E.ON España, but other utility
companies are allowed to get on board provided they do so before the end of
this year.
The
system will replace the quarterly 'energy auctions' which would affect rates
for three months at a time and which have led to Spain's electricity being
among the four most expensive in Europe.
Axing
the quarterly auctions is hoped to bring it down to much more affordable levels.
Already,
Iberdrola offers a fixed monthly payment scheme whereby the average cost over
the previous year is calculated, so that each month the consumer pays the same
and does not suffer unpleasant surprises when the bill arrives.
At the end of the year, the total deficit or surplus
is worked out and either added onto or deducted from monthly payments over the
following year as a flat rate.
Hasta
Pronto,
Francis
Scheirs, Owner El Premio.
Mail me at francis@elpremio.es
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