Surely it's theft.
If you bypass then I presume you are using over your contracted potencia. On that basis you are paying a lower tariff than you should.

If your wiring is rated at 5kw and you remove the ICP then, all things being equal, it won't make a lot of difference, but if you did it so you could install a huge swimming pool heater then the overloaded wiring could cause a fire.

As for the legality, you pay your standing charge on the basis of the potencia. If you remove the ICP so that you can run a higher load then you are defrauding the supplier of revenue that he would be otherwise be entitled to if you had upgraded the ICP.

Yeh, you may be - it's so hard to tell if you actually exceed the contracted power.


You are certainly still paying for the extra power consumed but you may be on a lower tariff.

I guess that's only a few centimos per month. But yes, technically you are stealing I suppose (hadn't thought of that angle).

What's the next level up from 5.75 and what are the extra costs please?

Back to the topic.
I am considering upgrading. As I bought a reformed house in late 2008 would I need a new boletin (??) or would Iberdrola change the ICP as the installation is only a few years old?
If I need a new boletin how much does it cost?
My main problem is as the house is only a holiday home I am not there most of the time. Assuming I do not need a boletin would Iberdrola need access to the house?
Cheers

To change the electricity supply into your name requires a boletin (it did for us on all our properties anyway).

The boletin itself was about 200-300 euros just for the certificate. BUT, you have to have a qualified electrician test the entire installation and that's more money again.

It's best (and cheaper) to get an electrician to fit the ICP - you don't need to have Iberdrola do it for you. Having said that, they did ours for free (not sure why though) but then our house had only recently been reformed/inspected.

Confusing, isn't it??!

Yes.

I have never paid for a boletin. When we bought the house we left it to our solicitor and I think we temporarily took over the existing supply. This never tripped.
It was some months later that we signed a contract in our names with Iberdrola. I just accepted that contract set up by the solicitor/Iberdrola and it was the solicitor who agreed the potencia. I just never gave it a thought at the time.
It's more an inconvenience than a problem as it is only in the winter that it trips as I said in an earlier post, but I would rather not have to go down a long flights of stairs to reset it in the dark.
I do think there is quite a bit of tolerance in the potencia as I am sure I am often over the 5.75kw I am contracted for.

I've just checked with the 'oracle' and she reminded me that we weren't charged for the ICP because we upgraded from 3.3kW to 5.75kW.

If your contract is for 10kW or less, you are eligible for the Tarifa de última recurso (TUR) which means your electricity price is controlled by the government. Above that, the energy companies can charge what they like.

Article 10 of Royal Decree 1454/2005 stipulates that all supplies to consumers must include power control elements according to the installation plans established by the distribution companies and submitted to the regional authorities

on the boletin itself there is a section that relates to how much power can be contracted. this would have been determined by the installer depending on factors such as cable sizing and design of the installation. also an application should be made to the electricity supplier to ensure that the local wiring (in the street) is able to take an increased load. if your maximum power written on the boletin is 5.75kw that is the maximum you can be contracted to.

in effect bypassing the ICP could create 'hotpoints' within the circuit which in turn is a fire risk. if you have other protective devices they would protect the installation providing they are working correctly, but the ICP is installed before them meaning the only means of protection is the fuses in the street/up a pylon.

I'm sure this is now off-topic, but I don't really understand your comments.

I have trip switches for different parts of the circuit. These would blow before the ICP if there was a problem.

The ICP is, in fact, the last line of 'defence' not the first surely?


Anyway, whilst the decree says that all properties must have an ICP (or equivalent), Iberdrola have not requested that I have one installed in some of the flats that I own.

If they don't request I get one installed, then I won't contact them!

Any protection to an electrical installation should be at the source, and any devices 'downstream'.

what i mean is you have a bad connection (if you bypass the ICP) is before the other protective devices such as an RCD, and on the upstream part of the circuit but is still located within the property.

if Iberdrola do not request you have an ICP installed it may be that there records already show you have a limiter device installed. i agree that it is not worth getting it installed unless it is requested. obviously this means the supply cable would not be broken and therefore the problem of a bad connection would not exist.

i know about this as i am a registered electrician both with the Communidad Valenciana & Iberdrola. i deal with this sort of thing on a daily basis.

Yep,utilizing a generator can change the supply watt,that is why I did also install gas oven running to 220V meantime.

I hope that he isnt working "hot" as his finger appears to be touching the terminal

but then as the photo comes from a Virginia (good old US of A) electrical company operating at 110v...........