What is it and how is it billed?

The Voluntary Price for the Small Consumer (VPSC) is the pricing mechanism established by the Government since 1 April 2014 (Royal Decree 216/2014 of 28 March).

With this methodology, the electricity price is calculated for each day and hour based on the daily energy market.

From 1 January 2024, the cost of energy of the VPSC, in addition to the costs of the daily market, will take into account the costs of the forward markets. This measure aims to reduce the volatility of the VPSC in order to achieve price stability and security for the consumer.

It should be noted that this measure will be applied automatically to all supplies that have contracted the VPSC, so consumers do not have to do anything about it.

The VPSC also includes the following items:

  • The cost of electricity production, which is determined on the basis of the price on the daily and forward markets.

  • Grid access tolls and electricity system charges.

  • The marketing costs determined by the regulations, including the financing of the subsidised rate, which is billed on a separate line.

The VPSC is structured into a power term, an energy term and a subsidised rate financing term, which include the items mentioned above.

This rate, being a regulated price, can only be contracted through the Reference Retailers, in the case of the Iberdrola Group, CURENERGÍA Comercializador de Último Recurso S.A.U.

Who can sign up for it?

The VPSC can be contracted by all individuals and micro-enterprises connected at low voltage with a contracted power equal to or less than 10kW in each of the existing hourly periods.

A micro-enterprise is defined as an enterprise which employs fewer than 10 persons and whose annual turnover or annual balance sheet total does not exceed ¤2 million.

The accreditation of the status of micro-enterprise shall be made to the reference retailer at the time of application or renewal of the contract, by presenting a statement of compliance in accordance with the model established by the Government [PDF]. You can submit this statement of compliance by e-mail (by sending it to clientes@tucurenergia.es) or at any of our Customer Service Points.

The National Markets and Competition Commission may request any additional information from the applicant company in order to verify this.

Any change that entails the loss of micro-enterprise status must be communicated to the reference retailer within a maximum period of one month.

WARNING: there are currently consumers who have contracted the VPSC and who, due to the regulatory changes established in Royal Decree 446/2023, from their renewal date during 2024, cannot maintain this rate.

The limitation of the application of the VPSC to individuals and micro-enterprises will not be applicable until 1 January 2024.

If the contract holder is a natural person, it is not necessary to do anything, they will continue to have a VPSC contract by default.

However, if the contract holder is a company, in order to continue to have a VPSC contract from its renewal date during 2024, they must first prove the condition of micro-enterprise by presenting the corresponding statement of compliance.

If upon expiry of the VPSC supply contract, the company has not formalised a new supply contract with a free market retailer, the regulations established for supply by the reference retailers will be applicable to consumers who, without having the option of contracting the VPSC, temporarily lack a contract with a free market retailer.

Conditions and contracting

The VPSC can be contracted by all individuals and micro-enterprises, connected at low voltage and with a contracted power equal to or less than 10kW in each of the existing hourly periods

A micro-enterprise is defined as an enterprise which employs fewer than 10 persons and whose annual turnover or annual balance sheet total does not exceed ¤2 million.

The accreditation of natural person status does not require additional documentation other than the presentation of the National Id/Foreign residency card (DNI/NIE) of the contract holder.

The accreditation of the status of micro-enterprise shall be carried out by means of the presentation of a statement of compliance in accordance with the model established by the Government [PDF]. You can submit this statement of compliance by e-mail (by sending it to clientes@tucurenergia.es) or at any of our Customer Service Points.

The VPSC contract has no permanence or penalty. Its duration is annual, and it is also automatically extended for periods of 1 year.

In compliance with current legislation the maximum period for change of supplier is 21 days if the distributor finds no technical problem or deficiencies in the connection.

See the conditions here [PDF]

You can sign up for this rate here