Reform power billing or risk hindering clean energy, Spain told

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Reddit
Email
The calls to bring down self-consumption barriers come after Spain overturned taxes on these systems and acted to streamline their roll-out (Credit: Flickr / Dominic Alves)

Spain has an opportunity in its upcoming reform of electricity charging to clear hurdles for self-consumption and electric vehicles (EVs), according to national PV body UNEF.

The ramping-up of the fixed element of power bills in recent years has made Spain an “anomaly” in Europe, the body said on Friday after assessing the state-of-play elsewhere in the continent.

This article requires Premium SubscriptionBasic (FREE) Subscription

Try Premium for just $1

  • Full premium access for the first month at only $1
  • Converts to an annual rate after 30 days unless cancelled
  • Cancel anytime during the trial period

Premium Benefits

  • Expert industry analysis and interviews
  • Digital access to PV Tech Power journal
  • Exclusive event discounts

Or get the full Premium subscription right away

Or continue reading this article for free

According to the analysis, the country pushed up the fixed share of electricity bills – which consumers pay regardless of use – from 23% in 2013 to 40% in 2019.

This year’s figure places Spain well above Italy (28%), the UK (25%), Sweden (25%), Portugal (23%), France (22%), Greece (11%) and Germany (7%), UNEF noted.

Spain’s higher fixed costs mean, the PV body argued, that the self-consumption installations the country now wants to support will take longer to recoup costs.

According to the association, the 40% fixed share also discourages energy savings and is ill-matched with EV consumption patterns, typically short power bursts followed by spells of inactivity.

Into post-sun tax territory

UNEF acknowledged Spain’s transition this decade towards higher fixed costs was meant to rake in more tax revenues but said the current political and energy landscape is “completely different”.

The country should, the association said, bring the fixed-to-variable ratio of power bills down to 25%-to-75%. The move would merely lead to the status quo before the increases, UNEF added.

The calls to bring down self-consumption barriers come as Spain acts to promote renewable-friendly legislation, moving away from the feed-in tariff fallout of the early 2010s.

Within its single year so far in office, the government of socialist Pedro Sánchez has presided over the roll-out of sweeping solar goals and major grid ugprades.

The country – now a subsidy-free PV hotspot – overturned last year the so-called ‘sun tax’ on self-consumption, adopting rules in April meant to cut red-tape for these systems.

The power charging reform now on the table, expected to conclude in 2020, will see the Environment Ministry and market regulator CNMC set new charges for electricity use.

See here for the full version of UNEF’s analysis and proposals (in Spanish)

2 December 2025
Málaga, Spain
Understanding PV module supply to the European market in 2026. PV ModuleTech Europe 2025 is a two-day conference that tackles these challenges directly, with an agenda that addresses all aspects of module supplier selection; product availability, technology offerings, traceability of supply-chain, factory auditing, module testing and reliability, and company bankability.
10 March 2026
Frankfurt, Germany
The conference will gather the key stakeholders from PV manufacturing, equipment/materials, policy-making and strategy, capital equipment investment and all interested downstream channels and third-party entities. The goal is simple: to map out PV manufacturing out to 2030 and beyond.

Read Next

October 7, 2025
Econergy will acquire 100% stake in the 155MW Ratesti solar project in Romania, further expanding its European renewable energy portfolio.
October 7, 2025
Solar PV will account for almost 80% of the 4.6TW of new renewable power expected to be added by 2030, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA).
October 6, 2025
German solar inverter manufacturer SMA Solar will cut 350 jobs in 2026 as it adapts to the “weak” residential PV market.
October 6, 2025
An expert panel has identified a series of grid failures that led to April's unprecedented power outage in Spain and Portugal, ruling out renewables as the leading cause.
October 2, 2025
Spanish waste management company Trabede and energy firm Greening Group will build a solar module recycling plant in Granada, Andalusia, Spain.
October 2, 2025
The European solar sector will lose around 5% of its jobs in 2025, the first contraction in employment for the sector in nearly a decade.

Subscribe to Newsletter

Upcoming Events

Solar Media Events
October 21, 2025
New York, USA
Solar Media Events
November 25, 2025
Warsaw, Poland
Solar Media Events
December 2, 2025
Málaga, Spain
Solar Media Events
February 3, 2026
London, UK