Jiloca44

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!

Jerseygirl

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!

Bri and Katee

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.

Neptuno

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.

lutonlad

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.

Rosemary

Hi and a warm welcome to the Spanish forum on BE. Myself and Fred James are the moderators for the Spanish forums whilst BEVS moderates Europe. Moderators are there to ensure that the site runs smoothly within the rules of BE. This is so that members gain the information that they are looking for and find their experiences on the forums to be friendly and worthwhile.

Problems and complaints should always be addressed to a moderator who will look into the matter and deal with it efficiently and fairly. Our members who post in the Spain Forums are usually friendly and helpful with a wealth of knowledge about the issues of living in Spain. I hope that you enjoy your time participating in the forums.

Please let me know if you need any further help.

Rosemary

jonboy

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?

Fred James

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.

Neptuno

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

cliff b

Whats potencia??

Fred James

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!

Fred James

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.

cliff b

Thanks Fred.

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

Fred James

Exactly!

Neptuno

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!!