Staggering Cost Of Electricity In Spain!

We have just had our final electricity bill, for the old house at the top of the hill; 99€ for our final month. Personally I think that is expensive, although when one considers our bills in the UK, maybe it's not. In the UK our dual fuel bill cost us over 200 pounds a month, for a three bedroom detached property in Southampton. The houses here in Spain are a lot smaller; our old house was, about a third of the size of our English home. We had no heating and no gas; generally paying 100€ each month for our single utility bill. When speaking to other residents in Gran Alacant, I was told in no uncertain terms, just how much cheaper their bills were. The average cost of an electricity bill in this area, was approximately 60-80€, making ours far larger than most and I have no idea why!

Currently the cost of electricity per KW, in cents, with Iberdrola is 0,169803; last year we were paying 0,155895, a substantial increase in charges. The standing charge is also higher here compared to the UK and one has to factor in IVA, the VAT equivlent at 21%, compared to 5% on domestic fuel in the UK. After checking online I found a fuel plan, with Scottish Power, who seem to be the cheapest supplier in the UK at the moment, at a cost of 0.12376p per KW. Spain remains one of the most expensive countries for electricity costs in Europe, which certainly doesn't help our Expat community, who have seen the value of their British income, investments and pensions fall dramatically, as the pound continues to fall against the Euro; Brexit being the main cause of concern.

I read recently about a Spanish family, who were surviving on 469€ a month in benefits, a family of five who were going through hard times. From this amount they were paying at least 80€ a month in utility charges, a huge amount of their disposable income. Fuel poverty is a big problem in Spain, which is why all of us who live here, need to conserve energy as much as we can.

The most expensive household item to run is a fridge freezer, which all of us need in our homes. Keeping it serviced and defrosted as much as possible will help to save you money. A more energy efficient product should be invested in if possible. There are many eco friendly, great value for money gadgets, that can be bought relatively cheaply from Euronics or Media Markt, as well as many of the larger supermarkets like Carrefour. We recently spent 149€ on an energy efficient freezer, allowing us to cook far more efficiently, freezing food in bulk.

The next most expensive appliance was the good old television set. The bigger the screen the more expensive it is to run. When choosing a television to buy, one should try and keep the screen size of choice to below 50" and always buy an energy efficient product; widely available on the high street. Our current TV, is a few years old now, hardly energy efficient and is probably responsible for a large proportion of the electricity bill. The average household has the TV on for about 6.5 hours a day, ours is on substantially more than that, especially with Darrell on holiday and me not working until the evening.

Heating ones house is also an expensive business. We have got a number of portable oil filled radiators but have never used them; the cost to run them is prohibited. The new house does have air conditioning which can be used to heat as well as cool. Once again the costs can be enormous, so not something we are contemplating. The efficiency of these systems are also an important factor in deciding whether or not to use them on a regular basis. I am not sure how old the system we have here is, so urge on the side of caution, always. To heat our home, we avoid electricity altogether, either wrapping up as warm as we can or preferring to use a calor gas heater. A bottle of gas, costing 16€ will last a week, considerably cheaper than the high cost of electricity.

However much we pay in electricity each monthly, there are always savings to be made. Turning off lights when you leave a room, buying energy efficient appliances, cutting down on usage and if you can changing to a cheaper supplier; whatever you do, you will be amazed at how much you can save. Running a household is about good management, something I haven't been too good at until now. I do my best to save money everyday, as I know all those who live in Gran Alacant do also. Keep warm, stay safe and keep your cash in your pocket!

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