# Worst EVER electric bill????



## Rabbitcat (Aug 31, 2014)

Get a load of this

Got my first electric bill

It covers a 16 period when I was 1 ( one) day in my place

Electricity used-€1.15

Bill total................€251.76!!!!!!!


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## Megsmum (Sep 9, 2012)

Rabbitcat said:


> Get a load of this
> 
> Got my first electric bill
> 
> ...



Dear god. Mrs Rabbitcat turn off those straighteners!,,

Why so high?


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## Rabbitcat (Aug 31, 2014)

Not entirely sure but some of it is I think a one off connection charge

Any kind knowledgeable member willing to have a look at it for me?

What I particularly don't understand is the monthly charge even if you use nothing-there appear to be two?


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## jimenato (Nov 21, 2009)

If you scan it and post it it might help. I found all sorts of errors on my electricity bills and became quite adept at spotting them (including once when the opening meter reading was the same as on the previous bill).


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## Rabbitcat (Aug 31, 2014)

What is the " termino de potencia "- which appears charged at a daily rate?


And also this one which was charged at €9  for the entire bill period- Derechos de Enganche Distribuidora (R.D. 1048/2013, Art. 29)


Thanks folks


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## snikpoh (Nov 19, 2007)

Rabbitcat said:


> What is the " termino de potencia "- which appears charged at a daily rate?
> 
> 
> And also this one which was charged at €9 for the entire bill period- Derechos de Enganche Distribuidora (R.D. 1048/2013, Art. 29)
> ...


You pay one amount to be supplied with an amount (capability) of potencia (for example 3.45kW x number of days x daily rate

You pay another daily rate for the rental of the meter

You pay a price for the amount of electricity consumed

You pay IVA or tax on all of that

Scan the bill as suggested and one of us will explain it to you. If you are with Iberdrola, then they will produce bills in English if you want.



By-the-way, there is always a 'connection charge' when you sign a new contract.


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## Rabbitcat (Aug 31, 2014)




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## Rabbitcat (Aug 31, 2014)

snikpoh said:


> You pay one amount to be supplied with an amount (capability) of potencia (for example 3.45kW x number of days x daily rate
> 
> You pay another daily rate for the rental of the meter
> 
> ...



So taking those first two together that would be a charge of about €40 a month before any electric is used-is that about right?


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## Overandout (Nov 10, 2012)

I have looked at the "derecho de acceso" charge and it seems that this is a charge for reconnection if the property has been without a supply for a period of time.

The page I looked at states that the price is fixed as a multiple of the contracted supply maximum, in your case the charge should be 19.70€ x the Kw value which using your bill's "potencia contratada" gives 19.70 x 9.2 = 181.24€...

At least it is a one off charge...

If you took over an existing supply however you probably should not have been charged this amount.


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## Rabbitcat (Aug 31, 2014)

Thanks for that Overandout- I do appreciate it

It was not an existing supply, the place is brand new

So as regards the other monthly charged daily rate potencia charge- does that always stay the same?

Reason I ask is in Turkey where I was for years- a standing charge included a minimal amount of electricity, if you didn't use it you were still charged BUT if you did use electric your charge for useage commenced after that daily charge was reached


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## cermignano (Feb 9, 2017)

That is utterly unbelievable. i never paid anything like that for my first bill in Italy.and they would charge you for breathing if they could. Pay more nowadays as they put the TV licence on the leckie bill


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## Rabbitcat (Aug 31, 2014)

I am máking this confusing so let me try again

What I am trying to ask is the daily potencia charge-which I understand you must pay even if you do not use any electric-counted towards your usage when you do use electric?

In other words for me my potencia standing charge amounts to €30 a month, i.e. €1 a day. 

If I were to use say €2 of electric every day would my bill for the month be €60 or € 90 ? (plus the meter rental plus tax)


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## Lynn R (Feb 21, 2014)

Overandout said:


> If you took over an existing supply however you probably should not have been charged this amount.


That's correct. I got a new electricity contract in my own name a few years ago (although I'd been paying the bills before that, the actual contract was still in the previous owner's name) and I wasn't charged anything by Endesa for the new contract.


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## Lynn R (Feb 21, 2014)

Rabbitcat said:


> Thanks for that Overandout- I do appreciate it
> 
> It was not an existing supply, the place is brand new
> 
> ...


Yes, the standing charge for the potencia always stays the same - whether you use any electricity or not. Looking at the bill you posted you are contracted for 9.2kw which seems pretty high, therefore your standing charges are also going to be high. I would have thought you could lower that to 6 or 7kw and still not get problems with the electrics tripping, but someone else with an all-electric property could probably give you better advice about that.


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## Rabbitcat (Aug 31, 2014)

Cheers Lynn

As I say I know the standing charge stays the same but does it count towards your useage, i.e. if I use nothing I still must pay €1 a day I understand that-, however if I use €4 a day is that €1 stranding charge plus another €3?


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## Lynn R (Feb 21, 2014)

Rabbitcat said:


> Cheers Lynn
> 
> As I say I know the standing charge stays the same but does it count towards your useage, i.e. if I use nothing I still must pay €1 a day I understand that-, however if I use €4 a day is that €1 stranding charge plus another €3?


If you use €4 worth of electricity per day, you would pay €4 for the electricity PLUS the daily charge for the potencia.


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

Your potencia charge is fixed regardless of what you use, it is based on the amount of power (potencia) you have contracted. This is a pain for holiday home owners who have to pay this standing charge even when the house has been empty and the power switched off.

Yours is 9.2 kW which as Lynn says is very high, probably much higher than you need! Ours is 4.6 and the charge is €16 a month. This is quite enough for oven, kettle, washing machine, electric radiators etc in a 170m2 house occupied by two people.

It will cost you money to change the contract to a lower rate, but you'll save in the long run.


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## snikpoh (Nov 19, 2007)

Alcalaina said:


> Your potencia charge is fixed regardless of what you use, it is based on the amount of power (potencia) you have contracted. This is a pain for holiday home owners who have to pay this standing charge even when the house has been empty and the power switched off.
> 
> Yours is 9.2 kW which as Lynn says is very high, probably much higher than you need! Ours is 4.6 and the charge is €16 a month. This is quite enough for oven, kettle, washing machine, electric radiators etc in a 170m2 house occupied by two people.
> 
> It will cost you money to change the contract to a lower rate, but you'll save in the long run.


We have 5.75kW for a large house with everything electric (hob, oven, microwave, 3 freezers, kettle, air con, pool, curlers, straighteners .....) and it never trips. However, friends of ours are on 13+kW and want more. When I asked why, they said " it's because we have 3 ovens and 4 hobs for when the family is over at Christmas".


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## Horlics (Sep 27, 2011)

I'm on 5.75kw - 3 bedroom apartment.

Ours trips occasionally but only when Mrs. Horlics has 4 hob rings, the oven, kettle, and water heater on the go. 

If I were you I would call them and see how much it would cost to get it reduced a bit.

What's the place... villa? flat?


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## snikpoh (Nov 19, 2007)

Horlics said:


> I'm on 5.75kw - 3 bedroom apartment.
> 
> Ours trips occasionally but only when Mrs. Horlics has 4 hob rings, the oven, kettle, and water heater on the go.
> 
> ...


Just to investigate this a bit for my own understanding ... does it trip because you're trying to pull too much current or is it just one circuit that trips (because the system isn't 'balanced' too well)?

Did you know that Spanish equipment (ovens, hobs, kettles etc.) are rated considerably lower than their UK counterparts for just this very reason. Might take longer to cook something or to boil water but the peak power usage will be less.


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## Horlics (Sep 27, 2011)

It seems to be the collective total rather than any one device that causes it. I had noticed the lower rating, many things seem to take a little longer here than on the UK supply.


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## ss-suffolk (Apr 3, 2017)

*1st Bill*

I sympathise. We have received our 1st bill with Endesa and weren't aware of:
"Derechos de contratación 54,36 €
Regularización y otros conceptos 11,72 €" plus IVA of course. We were only there for 9 days!

Total bill 94,05 €

Google says:
Recruitment rights € 54.36
Regularization and other concepts 11,72 €
So I guess it's a one off also.

I look forward to the next bill!

ps. I'm new here. I was going to show a snapshot of the relevant part of the bill, but can't find where to attach a jpg file. Can anyone help, please?


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## Rabbitcat (Aug 31, 2014)

Cheers for all the help folks-some wise members on here

I reckon you are all correct that the only way I can reduce my bill is reduce my potencia-however as far as I can make out from their site I am already on their lowest one

REALLY appreciate if someone run a quick eye over it just to check. As you can see from the link ( I think!!!) the lowest tariff is " less than 10"

Appreciate if anyone can read it for me. Cheers


Electricidad - Feníe Energía


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## davids0865 (Apr 12, 2016)

snikpoh said:


> Just to investigate this a bit for my own understanding ... does it trip because you're trying to pull too much current or is it just one circuit that trips (because the system isn't 'balanced' too well)?
> 
> Did you know that Spanish equipment (ovens, hobs, kettles etc.) are rated considerably lower than their UK counterparts for just this very reason. Might take longer to cook something or to boil water but the peak power usage will be less.


Theoretically, "balancing" only applies to the different phases of a 3 phase supply, and even then it is just guesswork on the part of the sparks as only true balancing is done by actively measuring live use.


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## davids0865 (Apr 12, 2016)

Rabbitcat said:


> Cheers for all the help folks-some wise members on here
> 
> I reckon you are all correct that the only way I can reduce my bill is reduce my potencia-however as far as I can make out from their site I am already on their lowest one
> 
> ...


Can't speak for Fenie, but, with Iberdrola we are on 3.45kw,(at .119€ per kw day) and this is really not enough for us


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## Pazcat (Mar 24, 2010)

We are on 7 and it still trips all the time without even flicking the switch. I suspect it is dodgy wiring in the kitchen. Hopefully when we redo the kitchen we will get it rewired too.


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## Lynn R (Feb 21, 2014)

Rabbitcat said:


> Cheers for all the help folks-some wise members on here
> 
> I reckon you are all correct that the only way I can reduce my bill is reduce my potencia-however as far as I can make out from their site I am already on their lowest one
> 
> ...


The information on the website is not very transparent when it comes to potencia levels. However, where it says "menos de 10kw" under the tipo de tarifa 2.0 (baja tension) I think that means you can choose what level of potencia you want as long as that doesn't exceed 10kw. 

Who set this contract up for you, because they really should have asked you how much potencia you wanted? From reading the info on the website, even the connection charge is related to the potencia so if you'd had a lower level of potencia you wouldn't have had to pay such a high connection charge either. It was more than a bit naughty landing you with 9.2kw potencia, I think.


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## Rabbitcat (Aug 31, 2014)

Thanks a million Lynn

Not for the first time you have been very helpful


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## snikpoh (Nov 19, 2007)

davids0865 said:


> Theoretically, "balancing" only applies to the different phases of a 3 phase supply, and even then it is just guesswork on the part of the sparks as only true balancing is done by actively measuring live use.


Yes, perhaps balancing was not the correct word.

What I really mean is that one should check that not ALL the kitchen appliances are on the same circuit. Hob and oven SHOULD be on a direct line with a 20-30A breaker but many times they are simply on the same circuit as the plugs. One place I saw even used ordinary plugs for them which is definitely not correct.


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

snikpoh said:


> We have 5.75kW for a large house with everything electric (hob, oven, microwave, 3 freezers, kettle, air con, pool, curlers, straighteners .....) and it never trips. However, friends of ours are on 13+kW and want more. When I asked why, they said " it's because we have 3 ovens and 4 hobs for when the family is over at Christmas".


Good grief, it would be cheaper to eat out!


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

ss-suffolk said:


> ps. I'm new here. I was going to show a snapshot of the relevant part of the bill, but can't find where to attach a jpg file. Can anyone help, please?


Once you have made five posts you should see "Manage attachments" under Additional Options when you make a new post. Just follow the instructions to upload a file from your PC.


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## davids0865 (Apr 12, 2016)

snikpoh said:


> Yes, perhaps balancing was not the correct word.
> 
> What I really mean is that one should check that not ALL the kitchen appliances are on the same circuit. Hob and oven SHOULD be on a direct line with a 20-30A breaker but many times they are simply on the same circuit as the plugs. One place I saw even used ordinary plugs for them which is definitely not correct.


All agreed


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## ss-suffolk (Apr 3, 2017)

Alcalaina said:


> Once you have made five posts you should see "Manage attachments" under Additional Options when you make a new post. Just follow the instructions to upload a file from your PC.


Thanks for your guidance. I understand now.


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## Rabbitcat (Aug 31, 2014)

Quick update

Contacted electric company who were very helpful and fast to respond

Bottom line is the minimum daily charge regardless of how low I drop my potencia would be 9 cents- so effectively my maximum saving would amount to €3 a month/€36 a year

Taken against the cost of having it done I don't think it's worth changing it to a lower potencia 

Cheers for all the help and info. It is appreciated 

Ps-on the upside I was well chuffed with myself that I was able to read most of their response without a translator so my Spanish is improving!!!!


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