PVPC or a fixed price: which costs you less?
Enter the price you have been offered. We show what you would have paid with it, and with the PVPC, over the last 30 days.
Over the last 30 days, from 18 September to 17 October, PVPC energy averaged 0.1900 €/kWh per kWh before tax for a home on Red Eléctrica’s standard consumption profile, and a 270 kWh bill with 4.6 kW of power would have cost €82.32. That is the break-even figure: a fixed-price deal with the same power would only have saved you money if its energy price was below 0.1900 €/kWh before tax, which is 0.2416 €/kWh with electricity tax and VAT. The comparison is only fair with tax on both sides and with your own consumption. Retailers usually quote fixed prices before tax, and some comparison sites set them against a PVPC that has no tax added either. This tool does it properly, and it asks for no contact details at all.
30-day PVPC bill
€82.32
€0.305 per kWh, all included
| Power (4.60 kW × 30 days) | €11.93 |
| Energy (270 kWh at 0.190 €/kWh on average) | €51.29 |
| Social discount funding | €0.74 |
| Electricity tax (5.11%) | €3.27 |
| Meter rental | €0.80 |
| IVA (21 %) | €14.29 |
| With your fixed price (0.187 €/kWh and 0.0864 €/kW·day) | €81.29 |
| The fixed price would save you | €1.03 |
Assumptions
Power with PVPC tolls, charges and retail margin (30.817 and 0.725 €/kW·year for peak-standard and off-peak), same power in both periods, single-phase meter, today’s taxes. Method and sources
Checked by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · Method and sources
What you actually need to compare
A market offer has two prices: energy, in euros per kWh, and power, in euros per kW per day or per year. Both carry the same taxes as the PVPC and the same meter rental, so the right comparison is the whole bill. The tool works out both bills with your use, your power and the day’s taxes, and gives you the difference.
Watch for three common traps: a pre-tax price set against a tax-inclusive PVPC, or the other way round; a fixed price that is only fixed for the first year; and a discount that applies to energy but not to power. To see which offers exist without handing over your details, the CNMC regulator has an official offers comparison tool.
The PVPC over recent months
The PVPC moves with the market, and a decision made in an expensive month may not hold for a year. The month-by-month history shows each month’s average with tax; this 30-day break-even of 0.1900 €/kWh before tax will not necessarily repeat.