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Spain’s electricity price hikes in 2024: What you need to know

Electricity bills for many people in Spain will go up again this March, with previously capped VAT rates due to rise further. Here's how much more you can expect to pay.

Published: 29 February 2024 08:53 CET
electricity prices in spain 2024
The average annual bill of a "typical customer" in Spain will rise by 15 percent, Photo: Burak the Weekender/Pexels

In January the Spanish government recalibrated some of its anti-crisis measures.

Though it maintained 0 percent VAT rates on essential foodstuffs, it cut some aid on energy bills. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez at the time announced that VAT on gas and electricity would go from the reduced rate of 5 percent to the (increased but still reduced) rate of 10 percent.

The measures had originally been brought in to give Spanish consumers a little respite during the energy crisis sparked by war in Ukraine.

However, due to unexpected falls in electricity prices (below €45/MWh) in February ,VAT on electricity bills will now rise again to the standard 21 percent, as in keeping with the legislation.

Why is it going up?

Essentially because electricity prices have fallen faster than the government anticipated. According to the anti-crisis law, if the price of electricity falls below €45/MWh, VAT would return to 21 percent. The government argues this is positive for customers, because prices are falling.

However, this was not expected to happen until late-2024 if not early-2025, so the rise has come rather unexpectedly and ahead of schedule.

If the average price breaks the €45/MWh threshold again, the government has said it will reintroduce the 10 percent VAT cap.

READ ALSO: How to change the title holder of utility bills in Spain

When does it go up?

This increase in the tax will be applied from Friday 1st March, coinciding with billing cycles.

What does it mean for my bills?

Basically, that your next electricity bill will include an 11 percent increase in VAT.

This rise applies to all consumers with electricity contracts with power of less than 10kW, both in the free and regulated market.

How much will my next bill be?

To get an estimate of how this will add to your bill, take a look at your last one.

Assuming that your consumption is stable and doesn’t fluctuate massively (if you went away on holiday, for example), the itemised electricity usage cost (terminology for this varies by company) should be stated, plus equipment, and the separate electricity tax, known as IEE in Spain.

Say all that adds up to €100. With the previous 10 percent VAT cap you would’ve paid €110, and with 21 percent the amount will now be €121.

Reporting from Europa Press estimates that the average annual bill is expected to increase the average annual bill of a “typical customer” by 15 percent, “from €467 to €539 per year”.

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SPANISH TRADITIONS

Everything you need to know about Mother’s Day in Spain

Here's how and when in May Mother's Day is celebrated in Spain, and why it owes its roots to religion and a Valencian poet.

Published: 3 May 2024 13:37 CEST
Everything you need to know about Mother's Day in Spain

This year, Mother’s Day (El Día de la Madre) is celebrated in Spain on Sunday May 5th. It’s always celebrated on the first Sunday of the month of May.

On this day, young children in Spain give their mothers manualidades (crafts) they’ve made at school as a token of their love.

Husbands and older sons and daughters may buy their wives/mothers a present to say thanks for all that they do as matriarchs, which usually takes the form of a detalle (smaller present than for a birthday or Christmas), and will come accompanied by a message such as te quiero, mamá (I love you, mum).

According to experiences website Aladinia, the average Spaniards spends €65 on gifts on Mother’s Day. 

Other mums may send out text messages to wish each other ¡Feliz Día de la Madre! (Happy Mother’s Day!).

As it’s always celebrated on a Sunday, many shops will be closed but you can expect plenty of restaurants to be open for lunch and perhaps dinner. 

Depending where you’re from, the first Sunday of May may or may not be when you’re used to celebrating Mother’s Day in your home country.

Around the world over 100 countries celebrate Mother’s Day (or Mothering Sunday, more on the difference below) – 77 in May, 13 in March, and 14 at other times during the year.

Some countries, like the UK, celebrate Mothering Sunday on the fourth Sunday during Lent, meaning that the date changes each year. This is because Mothering Sunday was originally a Christian holiday in some European countries.

READ ALSO: How a female teacher campaigned for Spain to have a Father’s Day

Spain, however, celebrates Mother’s Day on the first Sunday in May each year, meaning that it doesn’t have a fixed date either. But it wasn’t always like that.

The history of Mother’s Day in Spain

The first Mother’s Day in Spain was celebrated in Madrid all the way back on October 4th, 1926. Much of the impetus for establishing a day to celebrate mothers came, rather fittingly, from a poet.

Julio Menéndez García, a Valencian poet and public servant, pushed for a special day to celebrate mothers. Spanish newspaper La Libertad published a short section on Garcìa’s efforts in October 1925:

“A Levantine poet, Julio Menéndez García, has had the happy initiative that in Spain and in the Spanish-speaking nations a day should be consecrated to extol the love of mothers. The establishment of Mother’s Day is something tender and sympathetic, which deserves to be welcomed by governments, the press and public opinion, as it involves the highest tribute to women in their most august representation.”

After the Civil War, the church moved the date to December 8th to coincide with the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, a key holiday among Catholics. 

Civil War-era poster urging Madrid mothers to leave the Spanish capital with their children before the arrival of Franco’s troops. (Photo by AFP)

But it wasn’t until 1965 that Mother’s Day was celebrated in May in Spain. The reason for this change of date was to separate the celebrations (both were considered important enough to have their own day) but also the influence of other countries, namely the United States.

The campaign for a Mother’s Day was originally started by Anna Jarvis, an American wanting to honour her mother, in 1908. By 1914, US President Woodrow Wilson officially signed it into law, establishing a May date. 

However, for many years in Spain department store El Corte Inglés maintained the date of 8th December, meaning that Spain Mother’s Day was celebrated twice a year for a while, commercially speaking at least.

In 1936 a local council in Breña Baja, on the Canary island of La Palma, became the first in Spain to move Mother’s Day to May.

However, in 1965 the church authorities officially decided to move Mother’s Day to May, a month consecrated to the Virgin Mary. May is also the month of female gods in the classical world, and in Catholicism is dedicated to the Virgin Mary.

Interestingly, Jarvis herself later campaigned against the day, arguing it had become overly commercialised, something Spaniards often bemoan about other imported American customs like Halloween and Valentine’s Day. 

READ ALSO: How a female teacher campaigned for Spain to have a Father’s Day

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