Time-of-use pricing — discriminación horaria in Spanish — is the reason two neighbours who use the same amount of electricity can pay very different bills. Since 2021 the domestic tariff on almost every Spanish home splits the day into bands with different prices, and knowing how to use them means paying less for exactly the same energy.
You do not need to be an expert or live glued to your phone. Once you understand the peak, standard and off-peak periods and know which kind of tariff you are on, you can make decisions that show up on the bill. Here it is, with no small print.
What the 2.0TD tariff is, and why it affects you
In June 2021 a new structure of grid access tariffs came in. The one that applies to virtually every home is called 2.0TD, and its headline change was to make the price of electricity depend on the hour. Before, many contracts had a flat price; now, by default, the day is split into three periods.
The important thing to grasp is that these time bands are not set by your supplier: they come from the grid access charges and are the same for everyone. What changes from one supplier (comercializadora) to another is the price they put on each period, not the hours.
The three periods: peak, standard and off-peak
On mainland Spain, Monday to Friday on working days, the day looks like this:
- Punta / peak (most expensive): 10:00-14:00 and 18:00-22:00. It lines up with the busy morning and the evening return home.
- Llano / standard (middle price): 08:00-10:00, 14:00-18:00 and 22:00-00:00.
- Valle / off-peak (cheapest): 00:00-08:00, overnight.
- Weekends and national holidays: off-peak for the full 24 hours. All of Saturday and Sunday at the lowest price.
The practical idea is simple: anything you can move to the small hours or the weekend — the washing machine, dishwasher, electric water heater, charging the car — costs less. And peak hours are exactly the worst time to switch on the appliances that use the most.
PVPC or free market: the other decision
Beyond the hours, your contract sits in one of two worlds, and it is worth knowing which:
1. PVPC (the regulated tariff)
This is the tariff whose price is set by the government and tracks the wholesale market closely. Its price moves and can change a lot month to month: some spells it is the cheapest option on the market and others it is not. It rewards anyone willing to watch the price and shift their usage to the cheaper hours.
2. The free market (mercado libre)
These are the suppliers' own offers, at prices they set, almost always fixed for a year. You gain predictability — you know what you pay per kWh — in exchange for not benefiting directly when the market falls. Within the free market there are products with time-of-use pricing and others with a single all-day price.
There is no one answer for everyone. If your usage is flexible and you do not mind paying attention, PVPC can pay off; if you prefer a predictable bill, the free market gives you peace of mind. What almost never pays off is not knowing which one you are on.
How to check what you have
It is all on the bill, even if it takes some hunting. Look at three things: that it says tarifa de acceso 2.0TD (you almost certainly have it), whether the energy price is broken down by period (peak, standard and off-peak) or is a single figure, and how much contracted power you have, which is billed separately from the energy and can also be adjusted. Those three figures tell you almost everything about why you pay what you pay.
What this means on the Costa del Sol
Here time-of-use pricing shows up above all through air conditioning. In summer the hottest hours fall squarely in the peak period, just when energy is dearest, so the unit draws on the tariff at the worst possible moment. Setting it on a timer, using the thermostat sensibly and leaning on the standard and off-peak hours changes the end-of-month total a fair bit; we go into it in is air conditioning expensive to run and in how to cut your electricity bill in summer.
On the coast there are also many homes with badly matched power — inherited from a previous owner or another era — and huge solar potential thanks to the hours of sun. There the tariff becomes one more piece of a puzzle that includes contracted power and, where it stacks up, solar self-consumption.
How to make the tariff work for you
Shift what you can to off-peak. Appliances with a timer — washing machine, dishwasher, tumble dryer — and the electric water heater are the ideal candidates to run overnight or leave for the weekend.
Check your power before your tariff. Many high bills are not a problem with the price per kWh, but with paying for more power than you need every single month. It is the first thing we look at.
If you have an electric car or a battery, the tariff is king. Charging in off-peak hours or storing cheap energy for the expensive hours is where time-of-use pricing really pays. We look at it in whether a solar battery is worth it.
Frequently asked questions
What is discriminación horaria (time-of-use pricing)?
It means electricity does not cost the same at every hour. Since 2021 the standard domestic tariff (2.0TD) splits the day into three periods: punta (peak), when energy is most expensive; llano (standard), a middle price; and valle (off-peak), the cheapest, overnight and all weekend and on national holidays. Using the same energy in valle instead of punta can be noticeably cheaper.
Which hours are peak, standard and off-peak?
On mainland Spain, Monday to Friday on working days: peak (punta) 10:00-14:00 and 18:00-22:00; standard (llano) 08:00-10:00, 14:00-18:00 and 22:00-00:00; off-peak (valle) 00:00-08:00. Saturdays, Sundays and national holidays are off-peak for the full 24 hours. It is the same for every supplier, because the time bands come from the grid access charges, not from your company.
What is the difference between PVPC and the free market?
PVPC is the government-regulated tariff: its price moves with the wholesale market, so some months it is very cheap and others it is not. The free market (mercado libre) is what suppliers offer at prices they set themselves, usually fixed for a year. Neither is always better: PVPC rewards paying attention and shifting your usage, while the free market gives you a predictable, locked price.
How do I find out which tariff and periods I have?
It is all on your bill (factura). Look for "tarifa de acceso 2.0TD", the name of your product, and whether power and energy are priced differently by period. Almost all homes are on 2.0TD; it only differs if your supplier applies a single all-day price (some free-market products do) or if your contracted power is above 15 kW.
Can an electrician change my tariff?
No: you change the tariff and the supplier yourself, directly with the company, with no work and nobody's permission. What we do as electricians is help you make the most of it: set the water heater, dishwasher or car charging to run in off-peak hours, check that your contracted power is right, and assess whether solar self-consumption fits your usage pattern.
Want to squeeze more from your tariff without moving house?
At VLR Instalaciones we have over 20 years of electrical work in Málaga and the province, as electricians authorised by the Junta de Andalucía. We do not change your contract — you do that with the company — but we do set the installation up so the off-peak hours work in your favour: timers for the water heater and appliances, car charging in its cheap band, and properly matched contracted power. Get in touch for a no-obligation assessment.