Spain’s typical regulated electricity bill reached about €104 (roughly $117) in September, the highest for that month since 2022. A tax cut approved on September 29 could take around €14 off a similar bill, but only if official inflation data due later this month clears a 15% threshold.

Key takeaways

• Consumer group FACUA calculates that a typical household on Spain’s regulated PVPC tariff paid €104.31 in September 2026, up 28% from €81.49 a year earlier.
• Royal Decree-law 25/2026 would cut VAT on household electricity from 21% to 10% and the special electricity tax from 5.11% to 0.5%, but only if electricity prices in the official CPI rise more than 15% year on year.
• The cut is not in force yet. If triggered, it would apply in November and December 2026 to homes with contracted power under 10 kW and to recipients of the “bono social” discount.

What happened

Spain’s wholesale electricity market had its most expensive month of the year in September. The average daily price on the Iberian power exchange was about €143.7 per megawatt-hour (around $161), the highest since August 2022, according to FACUA and the Spanish news site ESdiario. Much of Spain’s power is still priced off gas-fired plants in the evening hours, so the jump in gas costs linked to the Middle East crisis has fed straight into electricity.

That matters most for households on the PVPC (precio voluntario para el pequeño consumidor), a regulated tariff whose energy price changes every hour with the wholesale market. In its monthly analysis, published on September 30, FACUA estimated that a typical PVPC customer, with 4.4 kW of contracted power and 366 kWh of use a month, paid €104.31 in September. That compares with €96.65 in August and €81.49 in September 2025. It is the first time in four years that the bill has gone above €100 in September.

On September 29 the cabinet approved its third energy package of the year, Royal Decree-law 25/2026. According to the Finance Ministry, it includes a conditional cut in electricity taxes: VAT would fall from 21% to 10% and the special electricity tax from 5.11% to 0.5%. The trigger is the electricity component of the consumer price index (CPI) published by the national statistics office, INE. It must show a year-on-year rise of more than 15%. INE’s flash estimate on September 29 put headline inflation at 4.9%, mainly because of fuel prices, but it did not include the electricity breakdown. That figure will come with the final September CPI, which INE says it will publish next month. ESdiario reports that a similar trigger did not activate over the summer, even with high prices.

What it means for your bill

Using FACUA’s typical household, you can see how much of the bill is tax. Taxes are stacked: the electricity tax is charged on the power and energy cost, then VAT is charged on everything. Leaving aside the small meter-rental charge (under €1 a month), the math looks roughly like this:

• Bill before taxes: €104.31 ÷ 1.21 (VAT) ÷ 1.0511 (electricity tax) ≈ €82.0
• With the cut: €82.0 × 1.005 × 1.10 ≈ €90.7 (about $102)
• Saving: about €13.65 a month (around $15), or roughly 13% of the bill. That matches FACUA’s own estimate.

Over November and December, a household like this would save about €27 (about $31). A home that uses twice as much electricity would save a little more than twice that, because the fixed power charge is a smaller share of its bill. If the trigger is not met, nothing changes and the 21% VAT rate stays.

Customers on fixed-price contracts from private suppliers (the “free market”) do not see hourly wholesale moves directly, although suppliers can reprice when contracts renew. They would also benefit from the tax cut if it is triggered, as long as their contracted power is under 10 kW.

What you can do

• Move flexible use to midday. On the PVPC, the cheapest hours in autumn are often around midday when solar output is high, and the most expensive are in the evening. Run washing machines and dishwashers then. Our guide to time-of-use electricity rates explains how hourly pricing works.
• Check your contracted power. Your bill shows it in kW. If you rarely trip the main switch, a lower power level cuts the fixed charge every month. See how to read your electric bill.
• Compare PVPC with a fixed price. With wholesale prices high, a fixed-price offer may cost less this winter. But read the length of the contract and any exit fees before switching.
• See if you qualify for the bono social. Low-income and other eligible households can apply for this discount through regulated suppliers. Recipients are also covered by the conditional tax cut.

Sources

• Spanish Finance Ministry — Tax cuts on fuel, electricity VAT and the electricity tax (Sept. 29, 2026)
• INE — Flash CPI estimate, September 2026
• Press Digital — Electricity bill rises 28% in its most expensive September since 2022 (FACUA data)
• Huelva Red — Electricity bill rises to €104 in September
• ESdiario — Crisis energy prices and three decrees in six months
• Qué! — The government’s plan against inflation: fuel, electricity and gas
• Smartgridsinfo — New measures against rising energy costs approved

Written by The Daily Economy editorial team with AI assistance and checked against the sources above. Read our editorial policy.