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ELECTRICITY

How to check your electricity consumption in real time in Spain

People in Spain are paying the highest electricity prices on record currently. Here's how to check your electricity consumption in real time to keep on top of how much you're spending.

Published: 9 September 2021 11:14 CEST
Updated: 8 March 2022 07:57 CET
How to check your electricity consumption in real time in Spain
How to check your electricity consumption in real time in Spain. Photo: Victoria Heath/Unsplash

War in Ukraine has pushed electricity prices in Spain to the highest rate on record – €544 per megawatt hour (MWh) on Tuesday February 8th.

Between 7pm and 8pm on Tuesday, Spaniards will pay €700/MWh for electricity, truly outlandish rates.

A year ago, the average price per megawatt hour was just €45.44, although over the course of 2021 the price did first double and then quadruple that rate as the Covid-19 pandemic, inflation, adverse weather and a volatile natural gas market all formed the perfect storm for consumers.

And yet, those sky-high rates pale in comparison with what people in Spain now have to pay, with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine proving to be the straw that broke the camel’s back.

Logically, Spain’s 47 million inhabitants are now looking for ways to keep a watchful eye on how much electricity they’re consuming at home and at their businesses.

If this is the case for you, here’s how you can monitor your home consumption in real-time over the internet.

Firstly, please be aware that your home must have a smart meter installed in order for this to work.

These are the new models that have replaced the old traditional ones and are being installed and transmit the data so that you can follow it online. 

All you need to do is to go to the customer area of the distributor that provides your electricity or its corresponding app. This should be the company that sends you electricity bills each month.

If you don’t know your distributor, then you can look for the CUPS (Universal Supply Point Code) code on your bill – this is a series of numbers in which the first digits indicate the distributor.

Where to find your CUPS code. Image: Endesa
 

Here are some examples of codes that correspond to different distributors: Nedgia ES0230, Nortegas ES0229, Redexis ES0238, Endesa ES0031, Iberdrola ES0021, and Union Fenosa ES0022.

You can check here to see Spain’s 333 different electricity distributors. 

Electricity distributors in Spain per region. Image: Comisión Nacional de los Mercados y de la Competencia

Once you have identified your distributor, you can access the website and log on. If you are not yet registered online, you can go ahead and do so. You may need to input some information which should be included on your most recent bill, such as your CUPS code and other identifying numbers.

You may also need to scan in and upload an ID document in order for them to identify you.

Once you have registered and logged on you will need to click on the button that says something similar to ‘meter consultation’ or ‘online access to the meter’, which will give you access to the data.

Where to see your electricity consumption in real-time. Image: Screenshot

Whether on the web or via the app, you will be able to see the power capacity you have contracted and the power you are consuming displayed in real-time and letting you know how much you’re spending on electricity at that given moment.

Electricity consumption online. Image: Screenshot

If you don’t have a computer or access to the app, or you don’t have a smart meter installed at your home, you can also always call your company and request information on your current electricity consumption.

READ ALSO: 11 ways to cut costs as Spain’s electricity rates beat all-time price records

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For members

TAXES

How foreigners in Spain’s capital can pay less tax with the new Mbappé Law

The regional government of Madrid is finalising the approval of the so-called Mbappé Law, a very favourable new personal income tax regime for foreigners who settle and invest in the Spanish capital.

Published: 23 April 2024 16:44 CEST
How foreigners in Spain's capital can pay less tax with the new Mbappé Law

Similar to Spain’s Beckham Law, introduced in 2005, this piece of legislation is named after a famous footballer who will be the first to benefit from lower tax rates, as will other foreigners in Madrid.

Kylian Mbappé is a French footballer who currently plays for Paris Saint-Germain, but looks set to sign for Real Madrid this summer.

The objective of the right-wing Madrid government of Isabel Díaz Ayuso is to attract more foreign investment to the region with beneficial fiscal rates.

READ ALSO – Beckham Law: What foreigners need to know about Spain’s special tax regime

Unlike the Beckham though, the Mbappé Law is only designed to benefit foreigners who move to the region of Madrid, it’s not open to those who want to move elsewhere in Spain.

Also unlike the Beckham law, foreigners will only be able to reap the rewards of the Mbappé Law if they invest money into the region. This could be in the form of investments in companies or in vehicles, but it cannot include investments in property.

Specifically, applicants will be able to deduct 20 percent of all the money they invest in the Madrid region.

The law applies to regional personal income tax, which accounts for approximately half of entire tax payments in Spain, since the other part corresponds to the State’s collection.

Normally, a foreigner like Mbappé will be taxed in the highest income bracket, as they will earn well over €300,000 gross per year.

When the law is finally approved however, Mbappé could avoid paying the regional income tax entirely, in the event that 20 percent of his Madrid investments represent the same amount that he would have had to pay in taxes on his salary.

READ ALSO: Why you should move to this region in Spain if you want to pay less tax

How will the Mbappé Law work?

For example, if Mbappé earned €40 million gross (not his actual salary), he would normally be charged €18 million in personal income tax.

Of this, 24.5 percent would correspond to the state tax, and this would have to be paid as normal. This means the state would collect €9.8 million from him in tax.

The change happens with the rest of the tax – the regional tranche. If he doesn’t make any investments, which now seems unlikely, he would have to pay €8.2 million in tax to Madrid.

If on the other hand the French superstar invested €40 million in Spanish companies or state bonds – he could deduct €8 million, which represents 20 percent of that amount.

This would mean that Mbappé’s tax rate would remain at 24.5 percent, a marginal rate that is slightly higher than the personal income tax for a worker who earns €20,000 and receives around €1,300 net per month.

As a percentage, of course, the amounts in Mbappé’s case are going to be huge. So, instead of paying €18 million in total, he would only pay €9.8 million.

Overall, this legislation signals that Madrid will become even more attractive to foreign investors.

By contrast, those who move to Catalonia will have to pay 25.50 percent in regional income tax, which added to the 24.5 percent of the state tax would increase personal income tax by half. So as a Real Madrid player Mbappé would earn €30.2 million, but if he signed for Barça he would pocket €20 million.

What’s the catch?

There are a few caveats to the new law, which primarily depend on how long you stay in Madrid. The new regulations establish that you have to stay and live in Madrid for a total of six years. If you leave before those six years are up, then you will be forced to return part of the tax savings you made.

What does this mean for Madrid?

The regional government of Madrid estimates that 30,000 foreign investors could choose to move to the region specifically in order to benefit from the new law and that it will cost the public coffers €60 million per year.

The idea is that Madrid will continue to attract foreign investment. Madrid’s leader Isabel Díaz Ayuso recently claimed that: “Two out of every three euros that arrive in Spain as an investment from abroad do so in projects that are developed within the Community of Madrid. In the last decade, the flow of investments has doubled”.

Madrid already has some of the best tax incentives in Spain. Residents pay less tax on their income, assets, inheritance and property transactions and conditions are beneficial to high-income earners in particular.

Financial experts agree that Madrid is among, if not the top region, with the most lenient tax system in the country, and when the Mbappé law comes into force, the region will benefit from even more incentives.

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