How to lower your contracted power (and save without even noticing)

There's one overcharge almost nobody reviews, and it turns up on your bill every month come rain or shine: the power term. You pay it for having a certain number of kilowatts available, whether you use them or not. And a great many homes have more contracted than they need.

What contracted power actually is

Power (in kilowatts, kW) is the maximum you can have running at the same time. It's the "width of the pipe" of your installation: the wider it is, the more simultaneous appliances it takes, but the more you pay as a fixed charge every day.

On the 2.0TD tariff you can contract two power values: one for peak/standard hours and another for off-peak. Adjusting either of them shows up in the fixed part of your bill.

The sign that you have more than you need

The clearest clue is a simple one: if your main breaker (the ICP) never trips, you can very probably lower your power without noticing any change in your day-to-day life.

Think about your moments of highest simultaneous demand: oven on, hob going, dishwasher running and air conditioning all at once. If the power doesn't cut out even then, you've got plenty to spare.

How to work out the power you need

1. Add up the power of the appliances you tend to use at the same time (not everything in the house).
2. Add a small safety margin for occasional peaks.
3. Compare that figure with the power shown on your bill.

Plenty of homes contract 4.6 kW or 5.75 kW out of sheer inertia, when 3.45 kW would be more than enough. Every step you go down is fixed money you stop paying every month.

How much you really save

The power term is charged per kW and per day, so the saving is steady and predictable: dropping one step can mean several tens of euros a year, without changing a single consumption habit. It isn't the most spectacular saving, but it's one of the surest, because it doesn't depend on how much you use.

One caveat: lowering your power is free once a year; doing it more often may carry a small cost. That's why it's worth getting the calculation right first time.

Let us do the maths for you

Working out your optimum power by hand is possible, but it's easy to end up too low (and have the power cutting out) or too high (and keep overpaying). With luzgasia you upload your bill, we read your contracted power and your consumption profile, and we tell you whether you can adjust it and how much you'd save.

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