With the CNMC tool you will know what you would have paid in the last 12 months if you had been on the regulated market and the amount you would pay if you contracted the free market offers
Regulated tariff or free market? Do I have a smart meter? What is my distributor? And marketer? The continuous increases in the prices of electricity and gas have turned this expense into a headache in many homes, where the main objective is to save so that the electricity bill does not skyrocket. To help you find the cheapest rate, the National Commission for Markets and Competition (CNMC) offers a comparator for electricity and natural gas offers.
Before using this totally free ‘online’ tool, you must understand some keys about your electricity and gas bill that will help you find the information you need to use the comparator.
The regulated market: TUR rate and PVPC
In Spain there is a free market and a regulated market for electricity and gas, and their main difference is in their price. As it is not subject to a permanence commitment, it can be contracted and returned to the free market whenever desired.
In the regulated market, it is the Government that sets the price according to the supply-demand between those who produce energy and those who sell it to the consumer. The regulated tariff for electricity is called Voluntary Price for Small Consumers (PVPC), while for natural gas the term Last Resort Tariff (TUR) is used.
In the PVPC rate, the price of the kWh changes every day and every hour, so that to pay less you must plug in your electrical appliances during off-peak hours. In addition, it allows you to request the government’s electricity social bonus. It can be accessed by all consumers who do not exceed 10 kW in their home and have contracted one of these 8 marketers:
– Energy XXI (Endesa)
– Curenergy (Iberdrola)
– Power (Naturgy)
– Repsol PVPC
-Baser COR (TotalEnergies)
-CHC COR
– Energy Ceuta XXI (Ceuta)
– Teramelcor (Melilla)
One of the requirements of the TUR tariff is not reaching an annual consumption of 50,000 kWh. This rate has been extended for neighborhood communities with central heating. From the Organization of Consumers and Users (OCU) These are the 4 marketers that have the regulated rate for gas:
– Gas&Power Regulated Distributor (Naturgy Group).
– Energy XXI (Endesa Group).
– Curenergy (Iberdrola Group).
– Baser (Total Energies Group).
Free market
In Spain there are more homes that adjust to the free electricity market. According to data from Iberdrola, 62% of Spanish consumers have contracted this rate. In this case, the price is set by the company and the same kWh cost is maintained during the day. As signed in the contract, the consumer knows in advance what he is going to pay for each kWh he consumes. Marketers have several offers adapted to different consumption habits to contract both electricity and gas. Unlike the regulated market, they can apply a permanence commitment. Although they are characterized by a certain stability compared to the regulated market, the electric companies can also raise the price. There are many more vendors to choose from.
Difference between distributor and marketer
Clients have contracted both a distributor and a marketer.
– Distributor. The Organization of Consumers and Users (OCU) explains that it is in charge of bringing electricity home and it is not a company that the consumer can choose because they are established by geographical areas. It is also responsible for having the power lines in good condition. In this case, the Government is the one that sets how much the distributor should charge for doing that job. That amount, known as the access fee, is a component included in the fee. You should contact the distributor in case the power goes out, you want to have electricity in a new house, fraud or anomalies are detected or to access all the meter information. In addition, from its website you have the possibility to consult in real time the electricity consumption of your house.
– Marketer. It is a commercial agent that buys energy and sells it to its customers. It is with her that you sign the supply contract and agree on the rate. Therefore, the marketer is the one that you pay the bills that arrive at your home. In this case, you can choose the company and change whenever you want. To obtain information on invoices and offers, to carry out procedures related to payments or to change the owner, you must contact the marketer
The easiest way to access the comparator
To use the CNMC comparator for electricity and gas you can access through a QR code. This is the easiest way, since all the data about your current rate and consumption will be filled in automatically. You will not have to decipher your electricity bill to fill out the form.
You need to have an application installed on your device (mobile phone or tablet) for reading QR. Scan the code of the last receipt you received and you will directly access the CNM comparator portal with all the information filled in. With this service you will know what you would have paid in the last 12 months if you had been on the regulated market. And you will be shown the amount that you would pay in the coming months if you contract the offers of the marketers of the free market. Thus, you can compare and evaluate what is best for you and what is the cheapest option.
Access without QR code
The other way to use the comparator is to access it through its website: comparador.cnmc.gob.es. In this way you will have to attach the document with the data of your electricity and gas bill from the distributor to provide all the information on home consumption. These are the steps you must follow:
1. The first thing is to know who your distributor is, since this is the one that offers you the information and not the marketer. Take your invoice and look for the Universal Supply Point Code (CUPS), which is a combination made up of 20 or 22 digits. The first 4 numbers will indicate the name of your distributor. These are the codes corresponding to the main electrical companies:
– I-DE (Iberdrola Group): ES0021
– UFD (Naturgy): ES0022/ ES0390/ ES0397
– e-Distribution (Endesa): ES0023/ES0024/ES0029/ES0288/ES0363/ES0396
– E-Networks (EDP): ES0026
2. Sign up. Once you know the name you must access their website to register. Have your invoice handy because some distributors will ask you for the CUPS. After registration you will have to wait 48 hours for your account to be activated.
3. Sign in. To download the document you must log in to your account.
4. Access the comparator. Select the type of supply you wish to hire. Once you have downloaded the document, you must activate the option ‘I want to upload the file with my consumption’ which is just below the postal code field. And you will have all the data filled in.
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