One of the most common resources to balance the family budget at the beginning of the year is to review the cheapest electricity and gas rates on the market to analyze if a change will pay off. The decision can mean savings of hundreds of euros at the end of the year. This is corroborated by a study by the Facua consumer association, which concludes that the offers of the main marketers in the market "result in much higher bills than those paid by users with the Last Resort Rate (TUR), regulated by the Government".
The difference continues to be substantial despite the increase in the TUR rate, of 8.67% last January compared to October, and the fact that, according to data from the association, half of the large marketers have lowered their rates. The comparison shows that the offers of the six companies analyzed at the beginning of February -Endesa, Naturgy, Iberdrola, Repsol, CHC Energía and TotalEnergies- involve paying between 73% and 139% more for the energy consumed than with the regulated rate.
For all these reasons, the association continues to advise contracting TUR rates, of which there are three different rates on the market, depending on consumption. To carry out the study, a user who consumes 400 kWh and another who consumes 800 kWh per month has been taken as a reference.
According to the comparison of these two regulated tariffs with those of the free market, Repsol would be positioned as the most expensive company. For example, a user with a consumption of 9,600 kilowatt hours (kWh) per year (800 per month) pays a bill of 156.65 euros per month with this retailer, more than double the 69.19 euros to which his invoice if it had the regulated tariff corresponding to households with consumption between 5,000 and 15,000 kWh per year.
While the cheapest free market rates, those of TotalEnergies, give rise to bills that in the best of cases are 73% more expensive than the TUR. In this sense, a user with a regulated rate who consumes 400 kWh per month pays 36.09 euros per month. An amount that, if the current Repsol offer is contracted, can skyrocket 113% more, up to 77.04 euros. After this company, the most expensive for this consumption profile are Iberdrola and CHC Energía.
For a user profile with a consumption of 800 kWh per month, the bill for the regulated rate would amount to 69.19 euros per month, while in the free market the same customer can pay up to 156.65 euros, that is, 126% more.
With regard to fixed rates, the TUR for consumption of less than 5,000 kWh per year amounts to 5.28 euros per month, while those that are above and up to 15,000 kWh per year rise to 10 euros per month. In the free market, the most expensive rates for the two user profiles would be those of Repsol and CHC Energía, as can be seen in the table above.
