Saving on the electricity bill is something important and we must take measures to achieve it. However, sometimes it is not easy to know exactly what we have contracted or how much we pay depending on the time of day. In this article we are going to explain what you should take into account to know if you have an electricity rate with time slots or, on the contrary, you pay the same regardless of what time you use electricity.
How to know if I pay electricity according to the time
As you know, it is possible to have electricity rates with or without time discrimination. This means that if you have a rate with time slots, you will not pay the same if you turn on the oven at 12 in the morning than at 3 in the morning, for example. There are the peak, flat and valley sections. If you have a contracted rate without time difference, you will pay the same.
So, how can you know whether or not you have contracted an electricity rate that differentiates by hours? The first thing you should know is if you have a regulated rate or not. In case your rate is regulated, which means that you have prices set by the government, then you will have time slots. The only rate there is is what is known as PVPC and in that case you are interested in knowing what the price of electricity is each day and how much you will pay depending on the section.
To do this you have to go to your electricity bill. There you will be able to see the details of the contract and if you see that your rate is PVPC it means that it is regulated. You can also look at the name of the retailer and if it is any of these it means that you have a regulated tariff: Energía XXI (Endesa’s reference retailer), Curenergía (from Iberdrola), Base COR, Régsiti, Gas & Power, CHC COR or Teramelcor , which are the main ones.
But it may also be that you have a rate with time slots if you are in the free market. In this case you have to go back to the invoice and see the consumption. If you pay in different installments, you will see the amount in each of them. You will see what you have spent in the peak, flat or valley period.
Different hourly rates
Having a rate in the free market for time slots can be different among the multiple alternatives. The usual thing is that you have a peak, flat or valley period. Basically the day is going to be divided into three and you will pay more or less depending on the section in which you are at that moment.
But in addition, you will be able to contract a rate that has only two sections and even more personalized rates in which at certain times you pay less. Now, you must analyze all this, since you will be interested in one rate or another depending on each case. If you are going to concentrate consumption only at a few hours of the day, you may be interested in a rate that is cheaper at those hours, for example.
In short, as you can see, it is easy to know if you have a contracted rate with hourly discrimination or not. It is essential to have control over electricity consumption and to be able to save.
