Iberdrola Bills
 

Hi I've recently bought a villa in Javea & quite shocked at the electricity bills from iberdrola! It's 3 bed villa with 10x5 pool, we have been getting monthly bills for 9.2kw potencia. The last bill for the month sept-October is 192euros & we were there for 10days. Does this seem normal/ plus why are we billed every month??

We love the villa but just a bit shocked!:eek:

Re: Iberdrola Bills
 

Hi...welcome to BE.

I have moved your thread over to our Spain forum. Please shout out if you need help with anything site related.

Once again welcome!

Re: Iberdrola Bills
 

Our last bill was about 170€ for the last two months. Again its a 4 bed villa with same size pool. We are contracted for 5kw potencia. Our tv 50in plasma is on most of the day, dishwasher everyday, washing machine once sometimes twice a week, pool pump 2 hours a day and lastly 6 outside lights on each night after dark turned on by light sensors.

That may give you some idea however we are here more or less semi-permanently, slipping back to the UK for a couple of weeks every so often. We are not with Iberdrola though, our supplier is CHCenergia.

Re: Iberdrola Bills
 

Your standing charge will be very high for that potencia, so you will have quite a high bill even if you use very little electricity.
9.2 seems a very high potencia
Average potencia in that sized villa is 5.75 kw.

Re: Iberdrola Bills
 

5 years ago we were billed every 2 months. Then it changed to every month for a few years. Now it's back to 2 months. Haven't got a clue why!

9.2 is a high potencia.
Maybe you could visit the local Iberdrola office and reduce it and/or see if there's a better tariff for you. We changed our tariff recently, and the bills do seem a bit lower.

Re: Iberdrola Bills
 

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Re: Iberdrola Bills
 

Welcome Jiloca44,

5.5KWH: Our standing charge per month is 18.37euro, that is before they add the taxes and prior to using any electric atall!
Have you tried turning the electric off at the mains one night, whilst watching to see if the local houses are also plunged into darkness?

Re: Iberdrola Bills
 

Bills are now monthly but the meter is read only every two months.

With your 9.2kw potencia the monthly charge will be about €41 after taxes.

For 10 days use €192 would seem high, but it is possible the estimated reading was incorrect.

If you did reduce it to 5.75 the saving would only be about €15 a month.

9.2kw is on the high side but there would be a reason why the electrician installed such a rating. Usually people complain that the potencia is not high enough and the ICP fuse keeps tripping.

Re: Iberdrola Bills
 

Fred- saving only 15 euros per month , I think 180 euros a year is definitely worth saving!

Re: Iberdrola Bills
 

Whats potencia??

Re: Iberdrola Bills
 

Well, I guess it depends on whether you are prepared to accept the trip going all the time. As I said, there is probably a reason why the house has a high ICP.

Incidentally we pay over €900 a year just for our standing charge!

Re: Iberdrola Bills
 

When you take out an electricity supply agreement you agree to a limit on the maximum power that you can draw from the mains supply at any one time.

The monthly charge is based on the potencia that you contract for.

The house is fitted with a special fuse (called an ICP) which trips if you exceed the agreed potencia. As soon as you turn off one of the appliances, the ICP can be reset manually.

If you have a low potential you will save some money, but the inconvenience of the ICP tripping has to be taken into account.

The lowest commonly used potencia is 3.3kw but 5.75 is more common and meets most requirements unless you have electric heating.

You can have up to 25kw if you really need it and if the internal wiring is up to taking that sort of loading.

Re: Iberdrola Bills
 

Thanks Fred.

So the more you pay the more things you can run at one time.
Run too many and you trip the fuse.

Re: Iberdrola Bills
 

Exactly!

Re: Iberdrola Bills
 

Unless someone lives in a mansion, 5.75 kw is more than enough for a 3 bed house with swimming pool.
We upgraded from 3.3 to 5.75( not cheap process) and have had no problem at all.
Some take the route of just having a higher fuse fitted, dangerous and illegal, and will be found out when a smart meter is fitted ( as all Spain will have eventually) as only the contracted power will be given.
900 euros a year for standing charge? Mad!!

Re: Iberdrola Bills
 

Just to confirm. Iberdrola bill me every 2 months. Have done for about a year (monthly before that).

Re: Iberdrola Bills
 

It depends on the contract you are on. We are billed every two months by Iberdrola.

Re: Iberdrola Bills
 

Not necessarily mad. As I said earlier, if you have electric heating it gets expensive.

We have 150m2 of electric underfloor heating which can take a maximum of 17kw if it is all on at the same time.

We "make do" with "only" 14kw of potencia , but even that can trip occasionally. Some of that is due to the way a three phase supply is wired and there is no easy way round that.

However, it's lovely and warm in winter when we get up in the morning!

Re: Iberdrola Bills
 

Fred, it's nice that you have the resources to enjoy "not worrying about it", but it's a bit ironic that in a country that is amongst Europe's most challenging economies, many people just can't afford €80 per month just to "have" access to electricity before they consume one watt of energy - and especially considering that Spain has amongst the highest energy costs in the world, and some of the world's most profitable energy monopolies.

I would prefer that the energy companies in Spain had some competition and less political influence. That would bring energy prices down significantly. Unfortunately, "competition" is apparently a dirty word in Spain.

Re: Iberdrola Bills
 

That's not entirely true.

There is now a "free market" for electricity and the prices within this market can vary enormously.

Unfortunately it only applies to heavy users with a potencia of over 10kw (which rules out about 95% of domestic customers). We were with Endesa originally but when the free market was introduced we were then forced to negotiate a free market contract.

This was more expensive because the normal tarifs are heavily subsidised by the government. It is in theory possible for anyone to switch suppliers but as the tariffs are all artificially low then the offers are all almost identical so it isn't often worth changing.

In the "real" free market the offers can be very different as there is now competition. Endesa are one of the most expensive but there are some companies that are 50% cheaper.

Our contract is an annual one and this year Iberdrola reduced the charges by 25% to keep us.

So basically, there is competition in the market but it doesn't apply to most users.

Re: Iberdrola Bills
 

hi all ,
how do I find what my potencia is?
Similarly we get billed 150-190 per month even though we are not there!
How do I find the Iberdrola office (near Javea?Moraira)?
I have never seen a bill itemising consumption/charges. How do I get one?
thanks

Re: Iberdrola Bills
 

Point accepted, however, as you also point out, Spanish energy regulations (written primarily by the energy giants) eliminate competition for most people, and that's a far better situation for Spanish energy giants than in most countries.

In your region there may be a bit more "competition", but here in Mallorca, Endesa has the monopoly. You can "switch" to Iberdrola, but it's nothing more than switching who bills you for it. Yes, under certain circumstances, the bills could be a Euro or two less per billing period with Iberdrola. But Iberdorla has only a tiny office here with a handful of staff, and "service" is provided by Endesa anyway...

Re: Iberdrola Bills
 

It should show your potencia on your bill?

Re: Iberdrola Bills
 

Register for an on line account - really simple with Iberdrola.

You can then see your contract details as well as all your bills (in detail).


I needed to see my son's bills - he rents from a Spanish landlord. All I needed was the landlords name and DNI and his bank account number - all were on the rental contract. I logged on, used these details and was soon browsing my son't electricity bill (as I was the one who was going to have to pay it).

Re: Iberdrola Bills
 

Hi Jalonboy, You can register to get your bills on line www.iberdrola.es
I looks like you are paying for 2 or 3 other houses.
The normal bill which comes through the post is full of such information. I would not be surprised if the local office send you a Christmas card as well this year:p

Try here

https://www.iberdrola.es/02sica/clie...LACION=0820000

Re: Iberdrola Bills
 

Hi Jalonboy,
I just looked at your old posts and you were moaning about this in December 2012. Why trouble yourself now in October 2014 just keep paying them the money, you spoilsport:lol:

Re: Iberdrola Bills
 

ha ha! correct Jonboy .my bad.

Just set the online account up and have bills going back to 2013.
Iberdrola says something must be wrong! Looks like I'm paying for other folks:eek:
I'm travelling to the house this week to see if there is a leak!!
thx everyone