The electricity bill for August will be the most expensive in the last four years for consumers whose bill is linked to the regulated electricity tariff, known as PVPC. According to the analysis carried out by FACUA-Consumers in Action, the electricity bill for the average user with this tariff has reached 96.65 euros in the month ending today, representing an increase of 19.8% compared to the 80.71 euros paid exactly one year ago. You have to go back to October 2022 to find a higher bill, when it reached 103.34 euros.
In recent years, the bill for the average user — a customer with a contracted power of 4.4 kilowatts (kW) and a consumption of 366 kilowatt-hours (kWh) per month — for the month of August has been 96.65 euros in 2026, 80.71 euros in 2025, 78.21 euros in 2024, 73.21 euros in 2023, and 158.30 euros in 2022.
Regarding the monthly evolution, the increase compared to July — which had been the most expensive month of the year until then — was 3.2%. It was then 93.65 euros.
The average price per kWh of energy consumed in August was 26.89 cents during peak hours, 18.68 cents during flat hours, and 21.76 cents during valley hours. Thus, the price of energy has increased compared to August 2025 by 10.4% in peak, 17.9% in flat, and 39.8% in valley.
There are various reasons that inflate the electricity bill, such as the rise in gas prices or the reinforced operation that Red Eléctrica still maintains to guarantee supply and avoid blackouts, but Facua also points to the contracted power that consumers have, which in many cases exceeds what is necessary. “Domestic consumers pay electricity companies nearly one billion euros too much each year for the excess kilowatts listed in their contracts,” states the organization after noting that the average user profile used has a contracted power of 4.4 kilowatts (kW) — the same in peak and valley hours — and a consumption of 366 kWh per month.
“It is a profile developed after analyzing several tens of thousands of bills from occupied homes. Regarding the consumption percentages in the three time slots of the new billing system, the association has taken as a reference the traditional average user profile without time discrimination published in 2021 by the National Commission of Markets and Competition (CNMC), which consumes 45% of electricity during valley hours, 29% during peak hours, and 26% during flat hours.
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From Monday to Friday, peak hours apply from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m., flat hours from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. and from 10 p.m. to midnight, and valley hours from midnight to 8 a.m. On Saturdays, Sundays, and national holidays, valley hours apply 24 hours.
In this situation, Facua calls on the Government for a regulatory change to make a reduced VAT rate for electricity stable and permanent. This is one of the association’s historic demands, which considers it unfair for domestic users to be charged the highest VAT on an essential and basic supply such as electricity.
Thus, consolidating a reduced tax is essential to avoid further impacting the already strained economy of average households and to reduce the disproportionate profit margin of energy companies. The association has also been calling for years for nuclear and hydroelectric energy to be removed from the daily marginal auction and subjected to fixed prices set by the Government in the long term. This would avoid the so-called windfall profits of these technologies thanks to the design that the marginal system has had for decades, where the market price is determined by the most expensive offer that meets demand each hour.
“The loss of revenue for the treasury can be perfectly compensated by an increase in direct taxes affecting those who earn the most — large companies — so that it does not affect the financing of other essential matters such as healthcare or education,” the association assures.
Moreover, it also urges the Ministry for the Ecological Transition to finally carry out actions aimed at encouraging users to apply for social bonus discounts. Year after year, figures show that the vast majority of potential beneficiaries do not apply. They do not do so because they are unaware of its existence and characteristics or because they believe they are not entitled to receive it. To date, the Government continues without launching strong institutional advertising campaigns about these discounts.
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