The Government of José María Aznar (pp) began in 1997 the liberalization of the energy market in the Spanish State, in the hand of former vice-president and minister of Economy Rodrigo rato, currently oppressed by corruption cases. A process that has not ceased since then, and which has been drafted by governments of different colours in the following chapters of this horrifying history. We say “horribly”, because although it is a source of joy for the large corporations that make up the oligopoly of the Spanish energy market, the pockets of the citizens are, above all, the chronicle of bleeding.

Rato set the “tariff deficit” and his promise was the first hook of the trap: “With the measures we take, the light receipt will not rise above the CPI.” After all, the electricity consumer did not pay all the costs, and the state assumed the payment of the costs to the electricity companies as a debt. This led to an unrealistic withholding of the invoice, which began to be noted since 2004. By 2011, the Spanish State’s debt to the major electricity companies amounted to around EUR 20 billion, almost twice as much as in 2015. By pulling this thread it can be understood that since 2003 the average receipt has increased by 83.2%, above 10% in the last four years.

What exaggerated the invoices so much?

Only 35% of what the consumer pays is the cost of the energy consumed. 21% are taxes and the remaining 44% are salaries. The remuneration to which they refer are the “peninsular extras” – compensation to the non-peninsular Spanish territories – the “nuclear moratorium” adopted in 1997 – which is received by the main electricity transmission and distribution companies, the special tariff to large industrial companies, the prizes for the development of renewable energies – with 80% – and the prizes for their development.

To this must be added the model of electricity consumption that citizens in general have. In fact, the lack of awareness of what is paid for for years has led users to contract without any kind of awareness: There are 102,259 megawatts hired in the Spanish state, when the historical maximum consumption was 45,450, on December 17, 2007. The consumption pattern of users in the Basque Country does not seem to be very different.

The plot of the new system

The new system for calculating the total invoice, which has the main novelty in hourly billing, will mainly affect those users with an electronic counter who have adhered to the PVPC (Voluntary Price for Small Consumer) tariff set by the National Securities Market Commission. Many of them don't even know it exists. What's more, there's a trick in the calculation. The prices of the contracted power and energy consumed, prior to the approval of this measure, were changed in August 2014, at the instigation of the Ministry of Industry. Thus, the energy consumed fell by 11%, but the price of the contracted power increased by 63%. Therefore, users will save little.

New alternatives from shadow to light

Marisa Castro, from Ekologistak Martxan, offers workshops on electricity bills. It is clear that the problem is also a matter of education: “It doesn’t teach us to consume. On the contrary, it encourages us to spend everything we want.”

Castro has no hesitation in citing alternatives: “From self-management of own consumption. Check the power you need and don't take it over. Manage your consumptions, do what you have at hand. The next step is to flee the oligopoly companies. But where? There are companies that sell green energy. That itself is very good ecologically.”

However, it encourages citizens to go one step further: “Another option is to go to a renewable energy cooperative such as Goiener or Som Energia. In addition to decision-making power, they ensure that energy is renewable. The latter is the one offered by Iberdrola, but if you hire it with Iberdrola, nothing will change. If we all go to a cooperative that does not use nuclear power or combined cycle power, we will be able to change the system. Buying a cooperative or a large company doesn't have that much financial margin. It is the culture in which the real difference is created. Let consumption be conscious.”