Analysis of Daily Cost of Government Regulated ‘PVPC’ Electricity Tariff (formally the ‘TUR’ Tariff) for Domestic Consumers
For the statiticians amongst you I have produced a series of graphs, representing the increase in the cost of the Government Regulated electricity tariff over the last twelve years, from July 2003 to January 2016. I have produced three graphs; the Daily Cost of electricity, the Cost Breakdown per day (itemising the Fixed Charge ‘Potencia’, the Unit Charge ‘Consumo’, Electricity Tax, Meter Rental Fee and VAT ‘IVA’) and the Percentage Breakdown of Daily Cost (itemised as above).
The data used to create these graphs, using an Excel spreadsheet I developed, is based on data obtained from 99 electricity bills for a single-phase electricity supply; 22 bills for the period 18 July 2003 to 22 January 2007, and 77 bills for the period 22 January 2009 to 20 January 2016. Unfortunately bills for the period 23 January 2007 to 21 January 2009 were not available, hence the gap in the graphs!
Click here to see a range of graphs for differnt scenarios
In order to produce the graphs (see links in orange below) I have assumed a constant daily ‘consumo’ (usage), in reality this would not be the case, as in the winter you would use more electricity for heating and cooking, whereas in the summer I doubt you need electric heaters and you probably eat more salads and therefore not be using the oven or ceramic hob as much! In general, appliances that cool e.g. fridges, freezers, fans and air-conditioning units use less electricity than appliances that heat e.g. kettles, tumble-dryers, ovens and air-con units (for heating).
The bills used for this data analysis are my personal bills issued by Endesa Energía XXI, one of the ‘Comercializadoras de Ultimo Recurso’ (Government Regulated) electricity providers setup on deregulation of the Electricity Supply Market in July 2009. Prior to July 2009 my bills were issued by Sevillana Endesa the main electricity provider in Andalucia at the time. See the first post on my website New Regulations in Force, posted on 20 August 2009, for a list of other Government Regulated providers and the newly formed ‘Comercializadora Mercado Libre’ (Free Market) providers.
Based on the Tariff 2.0A (for contracted ‘Potencia’ upto 10 Kilowatts) referred to as the ‘Tarifa de Último Recurso (TUR)’ following deregulation in July 2009. Following the installation of my ‘Smart’ Meter in December 2013, my Tariff was changed to ‘Precio Voluntario para el Pequeño Consumidor (PVPC)’. Since October 2015 my bills are now calculated based on the ‘consumo real horario’ price, this is ‘Real Time Billing’, where the Unit Charge varies hour-by-hour and day-by-day. I will post more information on this new billing method for consumers with ‘integrated’ Smart Meters very soon, watch this space!
The frequency of bill production has changed over the years, from bi-monthly (every 2 months) to monthly, back to bi-monthly and now monthly! For this reason I have based my calculations on the daily cost of electricity.
Using the data from my bills, I have extrapolated results for the following scenarios. Click on the orange links below to open the graphs in full-screen mode, then use the Back button on your browser to return to this post:
Small Consumer – based on a ‘potencia contratada’ (contracted power) of 3,45 Kilowatts and a daily ‘consumo’ (usage) of 10 Kilowatt Hours
Medium Consumer – based on a ‘potencia contratada’ of 5,75 Kilowatts and a daily ‘consumo’ of 20 Kilowatt Hours
Large Consumer – based on a ‘potencia contratada’ of 9,2 Kilowatts and a daily ‘consumo’ of 45 Kilowatt Hours
I know from experience that many customers of mine have unlimited 3-phase electricity supplies with ‘potencia’ contracted at 15KW, 20KW, or more, and therefore their bills would be significantly higher. I do have customers that receive electricity bills in excess of 800-1.000€ per month! These are the real LARGE consumers!! If you have a single-phase domestic electricity supply with a potencia of less than 10KW you can check the graphs below to make a comparision with your own electricity bills.
From the Daily Cost graphs, you can see the overall increase in cost of electricity over the twelve year period. In my example above, a small consumer contracted at 3,45KW, the cost in July 2003 was approximately 1,20€ per day, this increased to 2,20€/day in January 2013 and is currently hovering around 2€/day. Extrapolating these amounts, this equates to 36,00€, 66,00€ and 60,00€ respectively for the same months.
For the large consumer in my example above the cost in July 2003 was 4,95€/day, the cost peaking at 9,36€/day in January 2013. This equates to monthly bills of approximately 148,50€ and 280,80€ respectively.
The Cost Breakdown graph clearly shows the increases in the Fixed Charge ‘Potencia’, Unit Charge ‘Consumo’ and VAT ‘IVA’. The Fixed Charge per Kilowatt contracted has risen steadily over the twelve years, from 4,65547 cents/KW in July 2003 to 11,515152 cents/KW in January 2016. The cost of the Unit Charge (i.e. 1 Kilowatt hour) almost doubled at it’s peak in January 2013 to 15,0938 cents, compared to cost in July 2003 of 8,0401 cents. The VAT rate increased from 16% to 18% in July 2010 and increased again to 21% in September 2012.
The Percentage Breakdown graphs clearly show the tunnel effect due to the increased percentage of the Fixed Charge i.e. ‘potencia’ contracted and increase in IVA. All the electricity providers in Spain have got wise to consumers who are replacing appliances with more ‘energy efficient’ models and substituting traditional light bulbs for ‘low energy’ or LED lights and therefore using less electricity. The Fixed Charge has increased more significantly over recent years, compared to the cost of the Unit Charge, the electricity consumed in Kilowatt Hours, and so as a percentage of the bill, what you pay now is less biased to the electricity you use, compared to the past. This shift in billing consumers for the ‘power available’ rather than ‘power used’ will continue in the future I am sure!
I will post more information on the new PVPC ‘Real Time Billing’ tariff, for consumers contracted with a Government Regulated provider with Smart Meter fitted and integrated into the ‘telemetry’ network, so please come back soon for more up-to-date information.
If you need assistance changing tariff or re-contracting within the ‘free market’ please contact me, details below or on my Home page. If required I can audit your electrical installation, perform load tests and advise you on the most suitable tariff and ‘potencia’ (power) in Kilowatts.
Contact me via email (address at top of page) or telephone +(34) 659 862 691.
16 February 2016