The electricity bill remains a significant burden for Spanish families. The average annual expense, depending on the power and consumption subscribed, can vary between 700 and 1,000 euros. For businesses and industries, this also represents a … key element of its costs. All movements that occur therefore have a direct effect. Even if in recent weeks Doubts remain about what can really happen from January 1..
An uncertainty that the Government has sown by ensuring that the entire bill will be cheaper in 2026. This situation would occur under specific conditions that no one can guarantee.
To understand what is happening with the electricity bill, we must take into account its composition – as well as the type of contract (whether it is a free or regulated market) – and who may be involved in each concept. Concerning the variable part, the energy costIn other words, the price of electricity in the wholesale market is the key, and it varies depending on the electrical use made of it. Simple. This affects more those who belong to the regulated model (PVPC), although it also affects those who negotiate the bill with their electricity company.
Then there is a fixed part, tolls And costs –which can represent between 25 and 35% of the total, depending on the type of contract–, which are the responsibility of the National Commission for Markets and Competition (CNMC) and the Government respectively, and which both have proposed to increase for next year. This means that with the same contracted power and similar electricity consumption, a user will pay more.
€/MWh
The government considers that if the cost per megawatt is within this range or below, the final cost of reception could decrease; but it is not known
Concretely, the CNMC proposed an increase in electricity tolls of 4.1% for the entire system. The money collected, which this coming year increases by almost 300 million compared to the previous year – and that is why the bill will increase – is used to improve the electrical networks, both the transport networks, which Red Eléctrica controls; like distribution, which is in the hands of several companies, although Iberdrola, Endesa and Naturgy are the main ones responsible.
For its part, the Ministry of Ecological Transition has launched a proposal to increase charges by more than 10%. Thanks to this money collected, certain electricity production technologies are financed, in particular certain types of renewable energies. Another part will reduce the debt generated by the system itself, and part of the grant collection will also be allocated to extra-peninsular systems.
Finally there are the taxes on electricity and VAT, to which must be added the tax on electricity production which, although intended for businesses, is passed on to consumers. And to all this we must add ours commercial margin companies for the services provided.
Why is the government saying it will go down?
Last week, sources from the Ministry of Ecological Transition suggested that, thanks to the fact that wholesale prices on the electricity market will be cheaper than in 2025, the final bill will be lower. But this is simply based on future market projections. A system that includes neither setbacks nor regulatory changes.
In other words, if the wholesale price does not drop substantially, the only certainty for the moment is an increase in the fixed part of the invoice which, in the long term, will have its impact on the overall invoice. Furthermore, it must be taken into account that Red Eléctrica continues to operate in “enhanced mode” the network to avoid power outages, which implies an increase in price. And, on this point, no one from the system operator has confirmed when this will end.
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