How to set up electricity in Spain: a guide for expats

First things first: you rarely need to "connect" anything

When people talk about setting up the electricity ("dar de alta la luz" in Spanish), they usually mean one of three situations, and each is a different procedure:

The flat already has electricity and the contract is in the landlord's or the previous tenant's name. This is the usual case when you rent. What you need is a cambio de titular (change of contract holder): it is free, no technician has to come round and the supply is not cut off.
The supply has been cancelled (dada de baja). You have to ask for a new connection (alta). It costs money, and you may be asked for the boletín eléctrico, the certificate for the wiring (see below).
A new home that has never had a supply. This is a first connection, with the installation certificate.

This guide focuses on the first case, and explains the other two at the end.

Who is who: comercializadora and distribuidora

Two companies appear on your bill, and it helps to tell them apart:

The comercializadora (supplier) is the company you sign the contract with and the one that bills you. You can choose it and change it.
The distribuidora (distributor) owns the grid and the meter in your area. You do not choose it: it depends on where the home is. It is the one that disconnects, connects and changes the power, although you request all of these through your comercializadora.

Every supply point has a unique code, the CUPS (código universal del punto de suministro, the universal supply point code). It starts with ES and appears on every bill. With it, the comercializadora identifies your home without mistakes.

Regulated market or free market

The regulated market (PVPC). The PVPC (precio voluntario para el pequeño consumidor, the voluntary price for small consumers) is set by regulation and changes every hour with the wholesale market. It is only offered by the reference suppliers (comercializadoras de referencia), whose list is published by the CNMC (the national markets and competition regulator), and only to households and micro-businesses with a power of up to 10 kW. It is the only tariff that lets you apply for the bono social, a discount for vulnerable households (see below).

The free market. Each company sets its own prices: fixed-price tariffs, time-of-use tariffs or tariffs indexed to the market. With a fixed-price tariff the bill is more predictable, but read the terms: some offers include a minimum contract period (permanencia) or add-on services that push the bill up.

Neither is always cheaper. To compare the real offers for your postcode and your consumption, use the CNMC's official comparison tool, which includes every supplier and takes no commission from any of them.

The bono social

The bono social is a discount on the bill for vulnerable consumers. Until 31 December 2026 it is 42.5% for vulnerable consumers and 57.5% for severely vulnerable consumers. To get it you must be on the PVPC with a reference supplier, in your main home and with a power of up to 10 kW, and be within the income limits. You apply to the reference supplier itself.

The change of contract holder, step by step

The CNMC puts it like this: the contract has to be in the name of the person using the energy, because if a bill goes unpaid the contract holder is liable for the debt. If the electricity is still in the landlord's name, you depend on them and cannot change tariff or company.

Ask the landlord for the latest bill. It gives you the CUPS, the potencia contratada (contracted power) and the name of the current contract holder.
Choose a comercializadora. You can stay with the same one (subrogación: the holder changes and the tariff stays) or change company at the same time (traspaso: both the holder and the tariff change).
Request it yourself and sign the contract. The change is always requested by the new holder, by phone, on the website or at one of the company's offices, and in both cases the new holder signs a new contract.
Wait for it to take effect. It takes between 1 and 20 working days, because the company waits for the end of the billing period. Meanwhile the electricity is not cut off.

The previous holder receives a final bill for consumption up to the date of the change, and you pay from that date.

Which documents you need

For the change of contract holder:

your name, surnames, identity number and phone number: foreigners give their NIE, and some companies accept a passport
the name, surnames and identity number of the previous holder
the CUPS or the full address
a copy of the rental contract or the title deed, if they ask for it
a bank account for paying the bills by direct debit

You do not need a Spanish account. Within the SEPA area, a company that collects payments by direct debit cannot refuse an account because it was opened in another country of the area (article 9 of EU Regulation 260/2012). If yours is refused, you can complain.

If you are an EU citizen and do not have a number yet, you get it with the registration certificate.

How much power to contract

The potencia contratada is how much electricity you can use at the same time. If it is too low, the circuit breaker trips when you switch on several appliances; if it is too high, you pay more every month, because the power is the fixed part of the bill. The most common values in homes are 3.45 kW, 4.6 kW and 5.75 kW: small flats without air conditioning usually manage fine with the first.

You can change it through your comercializadora, in principle once every twelve months. Lowering it costs about €9 in connection fees (derechos de enganche). Raising it costs that €9 plus about €19.70 for each extra kW in access fees (derechos de acceso), and in some cases extension fees (derechos de extensión). If the installation's boletín is more than 20 years old, the distribuidora can ask you to renew it.

How the bill is worked out

The bill has two main parts:

a fixed charge, which depends on the potencia contratada and which you pay even if you use nothing
a variable charge, which depends on the kWh you use

On top of that come the electricity tax, the meter rental and VAT (IVA). Air conditioning and electric heating are what push consumption up the most.

If the supply has been cancelled or the home is new

If the supply has been cancelled, the meter may have been removed, and you have to request a new connection and pay its costs: that is why the CNMC advises not to cancel the electricity of a home that will be empty for a short time, but to lower the power instead. The distribuidora may ask you for the electrical installation certificate (CIE, the "boletín"), which an authorised installer signs after inspecting the installation.

A new home needs that certificate for its first connection. The exact requirements depend on the autonomous community and the distribuidora: ask the comercializadora about them before you sign up.

Common mistakes

Leaving the contract in the landlord's name. If they stop paying or cancel the supply, you are left without electricity.
Requesting a cancellation and a new connection instead of a change of contract holder. The cancellation cuts the electricity off and the new connection costs money.
Contracting more power than you use. It is a fixed cost you pay every month.
Signing without reading the terms. Look at the minimum contract period, how long the offer price lasts and any add-on services.
Accepting a contract by phone that you did not ask for. If someone calls offering to "review your bill", do not give them your CUPS or your bank details.

The order of things when you arrive

Get your NIE.
Register on the padrón (the municipal register of residents) at your town hall.
Put the electricity in your name.
Sign up for internet.

If you are still waiting for a cita previa for your NIE or TIE, you can create an alert and you will get a notification by email or Telegram as soon as our checks find available appointments. You book it yourself on the official portal, free: Cita Ping does not book for you and cannot guarantee you an appointment.