Price of electricity today, August 6: the cheapest hour will be at 15:00 and the most expensive at 21:00

To modify the PVPC electricity tariff system in Spain, it is generally necessary to act on the regulations of the electricity sector, which usually involves a legislative reform (ordinary law or modification of the Electricity Sector Law) processed in the Cortes Generales. According to available information, an ordinary law is approved by a simple majority in the Congress: more votes in favor than against. The reform must first be debated in the Congress and then in the Senate, with the possibility of amendments in both Chambers. However, the consulted sources do not detail the specific use of the royal decree-law in this area nor which exact parts of the PVPC could be modified solely by regulatory means without going through Parliament.

a) Reform through ordinary law or modification of the Electricity Sector Law

Start of the reform: bill or legislative proposal

Modifying the legal regime of the PVPC requires, whenever it affects contents included in an existing law, a legislative reform. According to available information on how an existing law is modified, the procedure begins with the presentation of an initiative:

• Bill: presented by the Government.
• Legislative proposal: presented by parliamentary groups, the Senate, regional assemblies, or, in some cases, by popular initiative.

In both cases, the objective is to “modify, totally or partially, a law that is already in force,” being able to change specific articles, additional, transitional or final provisions, or even repeal part of the previous regulation.

Processing in the Cortes Generales

Available information indicates that the reform undergoes a parliamentary procedure in two successive phases:

• Congress of Deputies: the initiative is debated and voted on. During this process, parliamentary groups can present amendments to modify the initial text.
• Senate: once the text is approved in the Congress, it goes to the Senate, where it is also subject to debate and possible amendments.

In both cases, this is the ordinary processing of a law, also applicable to the modification of the Electricity Sector Law when the aim is to alter the legal framework of the PVPC.

Required majorities and final approval

According to information on the majority needed to approve an ordinary law, the Congress decides by simple majority: a number of votes in favor greater than those against is required, excluding abstentions. An absolute majority is not required except in special cases provided for in the Constitution or the Rules, which are not mentioned in the sources as applicable to the general case of such a reform.

Once both Chambers have approved the text (including, if applicable, the modifications introduced in the Senate), it is sent to the King for sanction and promulgation. The law is then published in the Official State Gazette and comes into force on the date indicated in the text or, failing that, 20 days after its publication.

b) Reform through royal decree-law

The user explicitly raises the option of using a royal decree-law approved by the Government and subsequently submitted to the Congress. However, the consulted sources do not provide any information on the specific procedure of the decree-law (material conditions, validation deadlines, possible validation procedures or further processing as a bill). Therefore, there is insufficient basis to describe in detail the specific parliamentary procedures associated with this route in relation to the PVPC.

c) What can be done without going through the Cortes Generales

The question also distinguishes between elements that could be modified by regulatory means (without direct intervention of the Cortes Generales) and those that would necessarily require a law. Based on the general description of legislative reform, it can be affirmed that everything that is included in a law and is intended to be changed requires the approval of a new law that reforms, adds, or eliminates parts of the original regulation, following the ordinary procedure described.

However, the consulted sources do not specify which exact parts of the PVPC design derive from law and which from regulatory norms, nor do they clearly indicate which aspects could be modified exclusively through Government provisions (regulations, ministerial orders, etc.) without going through the Cortes Generales. Consequently, no further information is available in the consulted sources to break down, in the specific case of the PVPC, which adjustments are strictly parliamentary and which could be addressed only within the Executive scope.

The Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge (MITECO) today retains a key role in setting the regulated components of the electricity bill but shares functions with the National Commission on Markets and Competition (CNMC). After the Electricity Sector Law 24/2013 and the reassignment of competencies by Royal Decree-law 1/2019, the basic scheme is: the CNMC defines methodologies and values of the transport and distribution tolls, while MITECO decides the system charges and other regulated costs, as well as the framework of the PVPC (regulated tariff). Based on this division, both institutions co-determine the regulated part of electricity tariffs.

General legal framework of the division of competencies

The Electricity Sector Law 24/2013 assigns the Government the economic management of the system, including the approval of regulated remunerations, tolls, and charges, within the energy policy framework. Subsequently, the Royal Decree-law 1/2019 adapts the Spanish legal system to European requirements by strengthening the independence of the CNMC: it entrusts it with setting methodologies and, in many cases, the specific values of network tolls and technical parameters, while the Ministry retains decision-making on charges and other public policy elements (deficit, insular extra costs, renewables, social bonus, etc.).

In parallel, the Law 3/2013 creating the CNMC configures the Commission as an independent regulator of energy sectors, with normative power through binding circulars on tariff matters and market operation.

What MITECO decides in regulated electricity tariffs

System charges and other regulated costs

After the division of competencies, the core of MITECO's direct intervention lies in the electric system charges, which are the part of the bill intended to finance public policies and general system costs (for example, territorial extra costs, part of renewable remuneration, or the social bonus).

The basic methodology for calculating charges is established by Royal Decree 148/2021. Based on this, the Ministry annually approves, by ministerial order, the specific prices of the charges and various regulated costs, as shown, among others, by:

• Order TED/113/2024, which sets charges and regulated costs for 2024.
• Order TED/1487/2024, which does the same for 2025 and allocates the financing of the social bonus.
• Order TED/1524/2025, which sets charges for 2026 and again the allocation of the social bonus.

These orders are issued “in accordance with” Royal Decree 148/2021 and explicitly cite CNMC Circular 3/2020, reflecting the fit between regulatory methodology (CNMC) and political decision on charge levels (MITECO).

Regulated components of the PVPC (regulated tariff)

The Voluntary Price for the Small Consumer (PVPC) is regulated by Royal Decree 216/2014, amended several times. In this scheme:

• The Government (through MITECO) defines the methodology for calculating the PVPC, the regime of reference retailers, and the commercialization costs that can be passed on.
• The State Secretariat for Energy, dependent on the Ministry, approves key operating procedures to estimate the regulated components of the PVPC, such as P.O. 14.12 “Estimation of the cost of PVPC components,” approved by Resolution of June 30, 2023.

Additionally, the Directorate General for Energy Policy and Mines has set consumption profiles and calculation methods for energy settlement at points without hourly measurement, which affect how the PVPC cost is distributed among consumers (for example, Resolution of December 22, 2025 for 2026).

Price information and energy policy guidance

MITECO also regulates the price information that electricity companies must send to the Administration, through Order TED/456/2021, and exercises a role in directing energy policy over the CNMC. A recent example is Order TED/1318/2025, which establishes energy policy guidelines to the CNMC regarding future normative circulars, in accordance with Royal Decree-law 1/2019 itself.

What corresponds to the CNMC

The CNMC, relying on Law 3/2013 and Royal Decree-law 1/2019, is today directly responsible for:

• Setting the methodology for calculating transport and distribution electricity tolls through circulars (the main one is Circular 3/2020, later modified).
• Periodically approving the specific toll values applicable, through resolutions such as Resolution of December 18, 2025, which sets access tolls from January 1, 2026.
• Regulating the operation of the wholesale market and system operation through circulars (for example, Circular 3/2019 on market and operation) and approval or modification of operating procedures.

In summary, in setting regulated electricity tariffs, MITECO decides the “what policy” (charges, regulated costs, PVPC tariff design, general orientation) and the CNMC the “how technical” (methodologies and toll levels, market and operation parameters), within the framework established by Law 24/2013 and European regulations.

To opt for the Voluntary Price for the Small Consumer (PVPC) in Spain, the regulations basically require three main things: that the supply is low voltage with a contracted power below a certain threshold, that the contract is signed with a reference retailer, and that the supply point meets the technical requirements provided in the general electricity sector regime. The PVPC is defined and structured by Royal Decree 216/2014, developed based on article 17 of Electricity Sector Law 24/2013. For the social bonus, it is also required that the holder is a natural person, in their habitual residence, and already under PVPC, according to Royal Decree 897/2017. No further information is available in the consulted sources about additional specific requirements for SMEs or second homes beyond these general elements.

Basic legal framework of the PVPC

The PVPC is mainly regulated in:

• Law 24/2013, of December 26, on the Electricity Sector, whose article 17 (cited in the preamble of RD 216/2014) defines voluntary prices for the small consumer as maximum prices applicable to certain consumers who meet regulatory requirements. See Law 24/2013.
• Royal Decree 216/2014, of March 28, which establishes “the methodology for calculating voluntary prices for the small consumer of electric energy and its legal contracting regime.” See RD 216/2014.

The preamble of RD 216/2014 indicates that the PVPC “will apply to low voltage consumers with contracted power up to 10 kW.” This is the central technical criterion to delimit who can opt in.

Technical requirements of the supply point

From reading RD 216/2014, the basic requirements of the supply point to be able to opt for PVPC are:

• Supply voltage: the consumer must be connected at low voltage. RD 216/2014 expressly refers to “low voltage consumers.”
• Contracted power: the power must be equal to or less than 10 kW. This limitation appears in the preamble when delimiting the scope of application of the PVPC.
• Measurement and billing regime: the article on PVPC structure and billing (window 30000-37500 of RD 216/2014) connects PVPC with Royal Decree 1718/2012 on reading and billing of supplies at low voltage with contracted power not exceeding 15 kW, confirming that these are typical domestic and small business supplies.

No further information is available in the consulted sources restricting PVPC only to domestic consumers; the limitation is essentially technical (low voltage and ≤10 kW).

Need to contract with a Reference Retailer

Another key requirement is the contracting party:

• Law 24/2013 and RD 216/2014 link PVPC to reference retailers, designated by regulation (listed in RD 216/2014 and its amendments).
• RD 897/2017 expressly states that “PVPC, and where applicable, the social bonus, can only be applied by a reference retailer” (windows 20003-21277), when regulating information to customers switching from the free market to PVPC.

Therefore, even if the supply meets technical conditions, there can be no PVPC if the contract is signed with a free market retailer and not with a reference one.

Relation with the Social Bonus and habitual residence

PVPC is a necessary but not sufficient condition to access the social bonus:

• Law 24/2013 establishes that the social bonus “will be limited to natural persons in their habitual residence” (window 265170-266664 of the law).
• RD 897/2017 defines the vulnerable consumer as the natural person holder of a supply point in their habitual residence “who, being a natural person, is under the voluntary price for the small consumer (PVPC)” and meets income and family composition requirements (windows 13605-14655).

Practical conclusion: a second residence can have PVPC if it meets low voltage and ≤10 kW and contracts with a reference retailer, but cannot have the social bonus, which is limited to the habitual residence of the vulnerable consumer.

Contract duration and permanence

RD 216/2014 expressly regulates the duration and termination of the PVPC contract:

• The “duration of supply contracts at voluntary price for the small consumer will be annual and will be automatically extended for equal periods,” with prior notice of two months to the consumer (window 30000-37500).
• However, the same provision recognizes that the consumer “will have the right to terminate the contract before its end or before the end of any of its extensions, at no cost.”

That is, there is no minimum permanence time with penalty; the annual limit is formal, but the customer can change retailer or modality without withdrawal charges.

Switching from free market and SMEs

RD 897/2017 regulates switches from the free market to PVPC:

• When a consumer in the free market “meets the requirements to opt for PVPC,” their retailer must inform them that they can switch to PVPC and, if applicable, request the social bonus, and that “this contracting modality can only be carried out by a reference retailer” (windows 20003-21277).
• The switch to PVPC, as long as access contract parameters are not modified, must be done “without any penalty or additional cost to the consumer.”

The consulted regulations do not introduce, in what is shown, differentiated requirements for SMEs beyond the purely technical ones (low voltage and ≤10 kW) and contracting with a reference retailer. No further information is available in the consulted sources about specific exclusions of SMEs in PVPC.