Price of electricity today, August 13: the cheapest hour will be at 14:00 and the most expensive at 21:00

The Voluntary Price for the Small Consumer (PVPC) is the regulated electricity tariff whose basic regime is established by Royal Decree 216/2014. According to this regulation, the voluntary prices for the small consumer "shall apply to low voltage consumers with contracted power up to 10 kW," who contract their supply with a reference marketer. Law 24/2013 of the Electricity Sector refers to regulatory development to specify which consumers are entitled to PVPC, and this development is precisely carried out by Royal Decree 216/2014. The available information does not mention additional requirements regarding smart meters nor an explicit restriction to only households or only companies.

Regulatory framework of the PVPC

The PVPC scheme is mainly supported by the following provisions:

• Law 24/2013, of the Electricity Sector, which in its article 17 regulates the voluntary prices for the small consumer and last resort tariffs, defining them as maximum prices that reference marketers can charge consumers who meet the regulatory requirements. It can be consulted in Law 24/2013.
• Royal Decree 216/2014, of March 28, which "establishes the calculation methodology of the voluntary prices for the small consumer of electric energy and its legal contracting regime." It indicates that PVPC "shall apply to low voltage consumers with contracted power up to 10 kW" and regulates the obligations of reference marketers and contractual conditions. It can be seen in Royal Decree 216/2014.
• Royal Decree-Law 17/2013, of December 27, cited in RD 216/2014 for the transitional mechanism of PVPC price setting in the first quarter of 2014 (Royal Decree-Law 17/2013).
• Royal Decree 897/2017, which regulates the figure of the vulnerable consumer, the social bonus, and last resort tariffs for domestic consumers (Royal Decree 897/2017). It is connected to PVPC because last resort tariffs are calculated based on its same price structure.
• Resolution of June 30, 2023, which updates operation procedure 14.12 on the estimation of the cost of PVPC components (Resolution 30-06-2023).

Additionally, RD 216/2014 has been partially amended by Royal Decree 469/2016 and partially affected by Royal Decree 184/2022, which repeals its Title IV (fixed price offers), without eliminating the core of the PVPC regime.

Basic requirements to be eligible for PVPC

From reading Royal Decree 216/2014 (expository sections and first articles), the following material requirements clearly emerge:

• Low voltage supply: the text itself indicates that voluntary prices for the small consumer "shall apply to low voltage consumers." High voltage or other types of supplies are not mentioned for PVPC.
• Contracted power ≤ 10 kW: the same passage adds that PVPC will apply to those with "contracted power up to 10 kW." This is the basic threshold that separates, for PVPC purposes, the small consumer from the rest.
• Contract with a reference marketer: RD 216/2014 establishes that certain designated business groups must act as "reference marketers" and that they "must attend to electricity supply requests and formalize the corresponding contracts with consumers who, meeting the requirements, opt to be covered by the voluntary price for the small consumer." Therefore, to be on PVPC it is necessary to contract with one of these regulated marketers, not with a free market marketer.
• Being a consumer entitled to PVPC according to Law 24/2013: RD 216/2014 develops article 17 of Law 24/2013, which refers to development regulations to specify which consumers can be covered. The decree generically refers to "consumers entitled to be covered by the voluntary prices for the small consumer or last resort tariffs." No more detailed typology list (domestic, SME, etc.) appears in the available text parts, so no further information is available in the consulted sources.

Aspects not expressly clarified by the sources

In the consulted documentation of Royal Decree 216/2014 and Law 24/2013, no explicit mentions have been found regarding:

• The need to have a remote or smart meter as a legal condition to have PVPC.
• A formal limitation of PVPC exclusively to domestic consumers or, conversely, to certain small companies. The text refers to "low voltage consumers with contracted power up to 10 kW," without further detail in the accessible fragments.

Consequently, based on the regulatory data used, it can be stated with certainty that the core requirements to be eligible for PVPC are: being in low voltage, not exceeding 10 kW of contracted power, and formalizing the supply contract with a reference marketer within the regulated market framework. No further information is available in the consulted sources about other possible technical limitations or client typologies.

The tariff system of the Voluntary Price for the Small Consumer (PVPC) is supported by a central block of regulations: Law 24/2013 of the Electricity Sector (which defines PVPC and authorizes the Government to regulate it), Royal Decree 216/2014 (calculation methodology and contracting regime), and its subsequent amendments, among which stand out Royal Decree 469/2016, Royal Decree 148/2021, and Royal Decree 446/2023. Added to these are orders and resolutions that specify commercialization costs and operation procedures, such as Order ETU/1948/2016 and the Resolution of June 30, 2023 approving P.O. 14.12. Alongside them, other royal decree-laws and regulations on consumer protection, system charges, and social bonus complete the framework, although the legal "heart" of PVPC remains the binomial Law 24/2013 + RD 216/2014, in its current wording.

Basic legal framework: Law 24/2013 and initial transitional regulation

Article 17 of Law 24/2013, of December 26, of the Electricity Sector, establishes that voluntary prices for the small consumer are maximum prices that reference marketers can charge consumers who meet the requirements, and includes in its structure the production cost, access tolls, charges, and commercialization costs, thus configuring the PVPC bill. This law is the enabling basis for the Government to develop the PVPC methodology by regulation, as also reflected in the analyzed regulations (Law 24/2013).

Before the definitive PVPC scheme came into force, Royal Decree-Law 17/2013, of December 27, transitorily determined the electricity price in contracts subject to PVPC in the first quarter of 2014, setting a specific coverage mechanism for reference marketers and providing for subsequent regularizations (RDL 17/2013).

Specific PVPC regulation: methodology and components

The regulatory core is Royal Decree 216/2014, of March 28, which "establishes the calculation methodology of the voluntary prices for the small consumer of electric energy and its legal contracting regime" (RD 216/2014). According to the preamble itself, this royal decree:

• Defines the structure of PVPC (power term and energy term).
• Establishes that the production cost is based on the hourly price of the day-ahead market, replacing the old CESUR auction system.
• Regulates the conditions of PVPC contracts and the status of reference marketers.
• Provides for an alternative fixed annual price offer by reference marketers (later affected by RD 184/2022, which repeals only Title IV and certain references, keeping the rest of the royal decree in force).

On this basis, reforms have been approved:

• Royal Decree 469/2016, of November 18, which modifies RD 216/2014 and adds a Title VII on the remuneration of commercialization costs, detailing the costs to be recognized (fixed per contracted power and variable per energy, including public road occupancy tax and contribution to the National Energy Efficiency Fund), as well as their structure and periodic review (RD 469/2016).
• Order ETU/1948/2016, of December 22, which sets the specific values of commercialization costs to be included in PVPC for 2014–2018, developing the methodology of RD 216/2014 as amended and allowing regularizations ordered by the Supreme Court (Order ETU/1948/2016).
• Royal Decree 148/2021, of March 9, which establishes the calculation methodology of electric system charges and modifies, among others, articles 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 17, and 20 of RD 216/2014, thus adapting the integrated charge structure in PVPC (RD 148/2021).
• Royal Decree 446/2023, of June 13 (cited in the Resolution of June 30, 2023), which again modifies RD 216/2014 to index PVPC to forward price signals and reduce its volatility, ordering the revision of the associated operation procedure.

In execution of this last adjustment, the Resolution of June 30, 2023 of the Secretary of State for Energy is approved, which revises the operation procedure P.O. 14.12 "Estimation of the cost of PVPC components". The annex establishes the method that the system operator must use to estimate components such as Pmh (average hourly price), SAh (balancing services), and OCh (other supply-associated costs), as well as the volume of forward procurement by reference marketers (Resolution 30‑6‑2023 P.O. 14.12). This resolution replaces the previous one of June 8, 2015 on the same procedure (Resolution 8‑6‑2015).

Complementary regulation: consumer protection and tariff context

Around PVPC also revolves regulation on vulnerable consumers and social bonus, essential because the latter applies over the PVPC tariff:

• Royal Decree 897/2017, of October 6, regulates the figure of the vulnerable consumer, the social bonus, and other protection measures for domestic electricity consumers (RD 897/2017).
• Royal Decree-Law 15/2018, on urgent measures for energy transition and consumer protection, modifies both RD 216/2014 (e.g., art. 20.2) and RD 897/2017, reinforcing protection on PVPC and social bonus (RDL 15/2018).
• Royal Decree-Laws 17/2021 and 23/2021, and RDL 18/2022, introduce temporary measures to mitigate the rise in gas and electricity prices and strengthen consumer protection, impacting the economic structure of regulated supply (RDL 17/2021, RDL 23/2021, RDL 18/2022).

Additionally, Royal Decree-Law 10/2022 introduces the Iberian mechanism for adjusting production costs, which although it does not directly regulate PVPC, influences the energy cost incorporated into this tariff (RDL 10/2022).

Other cited documents and references

In the research on PVPC, among others, the following provisions and BOE documents appear cited, some as prior repealed or partially in-force regulations, and others as sectoral or technical context: [link], [link], [link], [link], [link], [link], [link], [link], [link], [link], [link], [link], [link], [link], [link], [link], [link], [link], [link], [link], [link], [link], [link], [link], [link], [link], [link], [link], [link], [link], [link], [link], [link], [link], [link], [link], [link], [link], [link], [link], [link], [link], [link], [link], [link], [link], [link], [link], [link].

Red Eléctrica de España (REE), as system operator and transmission network manager, is not primarily responsible for setting or officially "proclaiming" the hourly prices of the wholesale market; that function corresponds to the market operator (OMIE). REE does have key competencies in the exchange and processing of information with OMIE, in the coherence between matching programs and the technical operation of the system, and in the publication of abundant technical and operational information, but the regulatory publication of hourly prices is anchored in the rules of the day-ahead and intraday markets. These functions mainly derive from Law 24/2013 of the Electricity Sector, CNMC Circular 3/2019, and the operating rules of the day-ahead and intraday markets approved by various resolutions.

General framework: separation of system operator / market operator

Law 24/2013 structures the production market into forward, day-ahead, intraday, and balancing markets and clearly distinguishes between:

• Market Operator (OM): manages the offer system and the economic matching (where wholesale hourly prices are obtained).
• System Operator (OS, REE): guarantees the technical management and security of the system, access and connection to networks, and coordinated operation with other European TSOs.

The law states that both OS and OM will have the functions expressly attributed to them, which are developed via CNMC circulars, operation procedures, and market rules.

REE obligations on information and coordination

1. Reception and processing of price matching information

Market rules approved by Resolution of May 9, 2014 and updated, among others, by Resolution of May 6, 2021, detail that OMIE calculates the matching results and that the system operator receives:

• Programs resulting from the day-ahead and intraday markets.
• Information on physically delivered bilateral contracts and interconnections.

REE must use this information to prepare the viable daily program and ensure that physical flows comply with security limits. It is not assigned specific competence over the calculation or economic validation of hourly prices; its role is technical-operational.

2. Coordination with the market operator

Market rules include a specific coordination rule (for example, Rule 51 in the 2014 resolution scheme, maintained and adapted later) that details:

• Information REE must provide to OMIE: unavailabilities, commercial capacities of interconnections, offer limitations, and zonal constraints, etc.
• Information OMIE must provide to REE: matching results and generation/consumption programs by unit.

Circular 3/2019 reinforces this coordination: it obliges OS and OM to jointly develop methodologies and apply European market coupling, capacity calculation, and data exchange standards.

3. Publication or dissemination of hourly prices and other information

Regarding the strict matter of publication of wholesale market hourly prices:

• The day-ahead and intraday market rules assign the official publication of prices, aggregated curves, volumes, and other market information to the market operator (OMIE) (rules for public information publication, information to agents and the public).
• REE does not appear as an obligated entity to publish matching prices; what it publishes on its website related to prices is informative or derived, but it is not the primary regulatory source.

However, it does have intense obligations for publication and provision of technical and system operation information, through operation procedures (for example, P.O. 9.2 on real-time information exchange, approved by Resolution of December 10, 2020, and other procedures approved or modified by resolutions such as those of March 16, 2023, February 23, 2023, June 1, 2016, June 8, 2015, or August 1, 2014).

4. Submission of information to CNMC, Ministry, and EU

Circular 3/2019 imposes on REE and OMIE the obligation to:

• Send to CNMC reports on possible suspicious market conduct (REMIT) and on the functioning of the wholesale market and system operation.
• Participate in the development and application of European methodologies for capacity calculation, market coupling, and congestion management, implying a constant flow of information with other TSOs and European platforms.

Additionally, Circular 4/2019 on system operator remuneration and other regulatory cost information standards, such as Circular 1/2015 and its amendment by Circular 3/2016, oblige REE to submit extensive economic-regulatory information to CNMC and the Ministry.

Other relevant surrounding regulations

The framework is completed with:

• More recent market rules resolutions (for example, Resolution of May 23, 2024, Resolution of February 28, 2025).
• Regulations on mechanisms such as the "gas cap" (for example, Royal Decree-Law 10/2022 and its extension by Royal Decree-Law 3/2023), which affect price formation but do not alter the basic OS/OM competence distribution.

In summary, REE is essential for the technical integrity and transparency of the system, but the regulated competence for the publication of wholesale market hourly prices lies with the market operator, with CNMC as the regulatory and supervisory authority.