Electricity prices in Spain
What a household in Spain pays for electricity, where the power comes from, and how the country differs from its neighbours.
Spain buys and sells its electricity on the Iberian market it shares with Portugal, and on most days the two countries end up with the same wholesale price. What sets the Spanish price apart is the sun: on bright spring days solar farms push it towards zero around noon, while in the evening gas-fired combined-cycle plants still decide what an hour costs. Households on the regulated PVPC tariff feel this directly, because their price follows the market hour by hour.
This page does not show Spain's hourly prices. It explains how the price is formed, what a Spanish bill is made of and how the country's generation compares with that of its neighbours. The price chart further down uses Eurostat's official household figures for the last three years rather than live market data.
The exchange's hourly prices in Spain may not be freely republished, so this page does not show them. The household prices here are Eurostat's official figures, updated every six months.
Where does the electricity in Spain come from?
Gross electricity generation in 2024 by energy source. Source: Eurostat (nrg_bal_peh).
Household price since 2023
Average price per kWh, all-in, for a household using 2,500–5,000 kWh a year. Source: Eurostat (nrg_pc_204).
A household in Spain using 2,500–5,000 kWh a year paid 25.1 c/kWh on average, all-in, in H1 2026, 4% less than a year before (Eurostat).
Eurostat's figure for each half-year, with taxes, levies, network costs and VAT. Updated twice a year.
How the electricity price works in Spain
One exchange for the Iberian Peninsula
The day-ahead price for mainland Spain is set by OMIE, the exchange that runs the Iberian electricity market (MIBEL) and is coupled with the rest of Europe. Spain and Portugal are separate bidding zones but clear at the same price as long as the lines between them are not full. A household chooses between a free-market contract, priced by the supplier, and the PVPC, a regulated tariff for connections up to 10 kW sold only by designated reference suppliers. The CNMC, the competition and markets authority, sets the network tolls; the government sets the other regulated charges and the PVPC rules.
Power term, time bands and the electricity tax
A Spanish bill charges twice. The power term is paid for every kilowatt of contracted capacity, per day, whether it is used or not; the energy term is paid per kilowatt-hour. Both contain network tolls (peajes) and regulated charges (cargos), which since June 2021 depend on three time bands: peak, standard and off-peak (punta, llano, valle). On top come the special electricity tax, levied as a percentage, the meter rental and finally VAT; in the Canary Islands the regional IGIC takes the place of VAT. Vulnerable households can apply for the bono social, a discount on the regulated tariff.
Sun at noon, gas after dark
Solar and wind now cover so much of Spanish demand that midday prices in spring often fall to zero or close to it, especially when reservoirs are full and consumption is low. After sunset the combined-cycle gas plants are needed again and the price climbs, so the cost of gas still shapes the evening hours and the average. Rainfall decides how much hydro is available, and the modest links to France mean Spain cannot lean much on the rest of Europe. In 2022 and 2023 the EU-approved “Iberian exception” capped the gas price used by power plants and held down the wholesale price on both sides of the border.
Wind, solar, nuclear and gas
Spain's generation rests on several legs. Wind and solar are the two largest sources, with solar growing fastest. Seven nuclear reactors at five sites provide a steady base, gas plants fill the gaps and hydro rises and falls with each year's rain. Coal has almost disappeared. The rapid shift has made grid stability a political topic: on 28 April 2025 the whole Iberian Peninsula lost power, and supply was not fully restored until the following morning. The investigations that followed put voltage control at the centre of the debate.
Portugal as a twin, France behind the Pyrenees
Portugal shares Spain's market and usually its price, though its mix leans more on hydro. To the north the picture changes: France runs largely on nuclear power, and the few lines across the Pyrenees carry only a small share of Spanish consumption, so French and Spanish prices often part ways. A subsea link through the Bay of Biscay is being built to widen that door. Compared with Germany, Spain has almost left coal behind while still running nuclear plants, the reverse of the German path.
Spain compared with its neighbours
In 2024, wind made 22%, solar made 21% and nuclear made 19% of the electricity generated in Spain. Wind, solar, hydro, nuclear and bioenergy together made 74% of generation in Spain.
Gross electricity generation in 2024 by energy source. Source: Eurostat (nrg_bal_peh). Pumped hydro is left out.
Voltly does not cover Spain yet
Voltly shows hourly prices in Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Germany, France, Netherlands and Belgium.
Voltly is for Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Germany, France, the Netherlands and Belgium.
Questions about the electricity price in Spain
- What does an ordinary household in Spain pay for electricity?
- A household in Spain using 2,500–5,000 kWh a year paid 25.1 c/kWh per kWh on average, all-in, in H1 2026, according to Eurostat. The price varies with the network company and the contract.
- How much of the electricity in Spain comes from wind?
- 22% of the electricity generated in Spain came from wind in 2024 (Eurostat), the largest single source.
- How does the power mix in Spain compare with the neighbours?
- In 2024: Spain: wind 22%, solar 21%; Portugal: wind 30%, hydro 24%; France: nuclear 67%, hydro 12%.
- Why doesn't this page show hourly prices for Spain?
- Spain's day-ahead prices are published by OMIE, the Iberian exchange, and the hourly PVPC prices by the system operator Red Eléctrica. Neither can be freely reused on a page like this one: OMIE's terms do not cover such use, and Red Eléctrica offers its data for non-commercial purposes. The page therefore shows Eurostat's official household prices, which are updated twice a year.
- Who can use the regulated PVPC tariff?
- Any household or small consumer with a contracted power of up to 10 kW, through one of the reference suppliers. Its price follows the wholesale market hour by hour, although since 2024 part of the energy cost has been tied to futures prices to smooth the swings. Free-market contracts, by contrast, often fix the price for a year.
- Is electricity cheaper at weekends in Spain?
- The network charges are. On the 2.0TD tariff that almost every home has, all of Saturday, Sunday and national holidays fall in the off-peak band (valle). Whether the energy itself is cheaper depends on the contract; on the PVPC it follows the market, which is often lower at weekends because demand drops.