Electricity bono social: what it is, who can claim it and how to apply

The electricity bono social (social electricity discount) is one of the most useful and, at the same time, least known forms of help for bringing down your electricity bill. If you meet the requirements, it applies a direct discount to the amount you pay, and it isn't a small one. The problem is that many people who would be entitled to it simply don't know, and many others lose it by not renewing in time.

Let's go through the whole thing: what it is, how much it discounts, who can claim it, how to apply and where people come unstuck.

What it actually is

It's a regulated discount applied to the energy charge and the power charge on your bill. It isn't a commercial offer: it's a consumer protection mechanism set out in law, so the discount is the same wherever you apply for it.

There's one condition worth understanding before anything else: it can only be applied to the regulated tariff (PVPC), contracted with a reference supplier (comercializadora de referencia). If you're on the free market and you're granted the bono social, you'll have to move to the PVPC to receive it. It isn't a complicated piece of paperwork, but you need to know about it.

How much it discounts

For 2026, the rates in force are:

The discount doesn't apply to all the energy you use, but up to an annual consumption limit eligible for the discount, which varies according to the type of household: it's higher if there are children, if it's a large family (familia numerosa) or if the account holder is recognised as being in a situation of particular vulnerability. Above that limit, the kWh are paid for at the normal price.

Even so, for an average household the saving runs to several tens of euros a year in the basic category and considerably more in the severe one. It is, by a distance, the biggest saving lever available to a household on a low income.

Who can claim it

There are two routes: by income and by circumstance.

By income. The combined income of the family unit is compared against the IPREM, which in 2026 stands at €8,400 a year. As a reference point, for a person living alone:

• Up to around €12,600 a year qualifies as a vulnerable consumer.
• Up to around €6,300 a year, as a severely vulnerable consumer.

That threshold goes up with each additional member of the family unit, and it goes up further still if any of these circumstances apply: a recognised disability of 33% or more, a situation of gender-based violence, being a victim of terrorism, or recognised long-term care needs.

By circumstance, with no income test. The following qualify directly:

• Large families, who count as vulnerable regardless of their income.
• Pensioners in the Social Security system receiving the minimum amount for retirement or permanent incapacity, and with no other significant income.

And there's a third category above those: the consumer at risk of social exclusion, meaning someone who meets the severely vulnerable requirements and, on top of that, is supported by the social services of an authority that funds at least 50% of their bill. In that case the supply cannot be cut off for non-payment.

The thresholds are updated, so it's worth checking them at the time you apply. The Ministry for the Ecological Transition maintains an official eligibility checker where, by entering your details, it tells you whether you qualify before you gather a single document. Start there: it takes five minutes and saves you the rest.

How to apply, step by step

1. Check whether you qualify using the ministry's official checker.
2. Gather the paperwork: DNI or NIE for every member of the family unit, a collective certificate of residence registration (empadronamiento, showing who lives in the property) and proof of whatever circumstance you're claiming — large family certificate, disability certificate, minimum pension award.
3. Download the official application form for the bono social. It's the same form for every reference supplier.
4. Send it to your reference supplier through whichever channel they specify: email, online office or post. If you're on the free market, you'll need to request the move to the PVPC at the same time.
5. Wait for the decision. If it's granted, the discount is applied to your following bills.

The application is free. Nobody should be charging you to process it, and if somebody offers to do it for a fee, you don't need them.

The three mistakes that leave people out

1. Not renewing it. The bono social expires and has to be renewed: the general rule is every two years. It is, by far, the most common reason for losing the discount — it gets granted, it gets forgotten, and one day it stops being applied without anyone warning you clearly enough. Put the date in your phone calendar the same day you're granted it.

For 2026 the bono social has been extended, and it's being kept automatically for anyone already receiving it, but that's a specific extension, not the permanent rule: the obligation to renew still stands.

2. Not reporting changes. If your family unit, your income or your situation changes, you have to report it. Receiving a discount you're no longer entitled to means having to pay it back.

3. Assuming you don't qualify. The circumstance-based thresholds catch a lot of people by surprise: a large family qualifies with no income limit, and so does a pensioner on the minimum. If either of those fits you, check — even if you think you earn too much.

The bono social térmico is a different thing (and arrives by itself)

The two get confused constantly. The bono social térmico is a payment towards heating, hot water and cooking, made once a year as a single lump sum, and you don't have to apply for it: it's granted automatically to anyone who was receiving the electricity bono social on 31 December of the previous year.

In other words: if you claim the electricity one, the heating one follows without you doing anything. That's another reason to get it sorted.

And if you're not eligible, you can still save

The bono social is only one of the levers. If you don't meet the requirements — or if you do but the PVPC doesn't suit you — there's almost always room in three other places:

• Contracted power, which is charged 365 days a year. It's the most common overcharge and the easiest to fix: we explain it in how to lower your contracted power.
• The tariff, if it's gone years without a review or renewed itself at a worse price without anybody telling you.
• Extra services: maintenance plans and insurance that aren't energy and add up every month.

Go through the 5 signs you're paying too much and, if you're torn between the regulated tariff and the free market, PVPC or the free market: which one suits you.

At luzgasia you upload your bill and we tell you, in plain language, where your saving is and what it's worth. And if what suits you is staying exactly where you are, we'll tell you that too.

It's free, with no strings attached and no sales calls. Analyse your bill now.