Lowering your contracted power: how much it costs and how much you save

How much can you save by lowering your power?

As explained, your electricity bill is split into two main parts: the energy consumed and the contracted power (how much you consume and how you consume it). Someone who wants more power (to run more appliances at once) will pay more than someone who runs them one after the other, as the former imposes a higher cost on the national electricity system than the latter, even if the energy consumption is the same in both cases.

On every bill, customers will see an item called the ‘power term’, which becomes more expensive the higher your contracted power is. 

The price of contracted power depends on your supplier, your tariff, or even the current offers available, but to give you an idea:

• Power during peak/shoulder hours: around €40 per kW per year.

• Power during off-peak hours: around €10 per kW per year. 

Contracted power at different times of the day

Focusing solely on the most common supplies (2.0TD access tariff, low-voltage supplies with contracted power ≤15kW), you should know that you don't have to contract the same power all day long. There are two time bands:

• Off-peak hours: Monday to Friday from midnight to 8 am, weekends, national holidays, and 6 January, 24 hours a day. Power is usually cheaper.

• Peak/shoulder hours: all other hours. Power is usually more expensive.  

Thus, users can keep a lower power level during peak/shoulder hours and a higher one during off-peak hours, shifting usage that can be scheduled to off-peak times. For example, if you have an electric car, you can programme it to charge only from midnight to 8 am. The same goes for an electric water heater, or night-storage heaters (a type of radiator to heat the home). 

When lowering power, the user can even leave the off-peak power untouched. This way, they will notice a reduction in the power term, and if they ever want to increase the power again, they won't have to pay extension or access rights. 

Who decides the contracted power?

Therefore, when taking out an electricity contract, the customer indicates the power they want to contract; it is not decided by the electricity company or the electrician. The electrician sets up the home or business installation to support up to a certain power level, but the customer can contract less if they wish.

Contracted power can be changed in the future, but it entails costs and limitations. When in doubt, it is better to contract less and increase it if necessary, rather than contracting too much and reducing it later. 

How is contracted power controlled?

The company can control this contracted power in two ways:

• With a Power Control Switch (ICP): this is the usual case for almost all customers and almost all homes. If the user demands more power than contracted, the power trips.

• With a Maximum Demand Meter: this is the method used for large supplies where the customer has contracted over 15 kW, and also in some supplies with lower power (so-called non-interruptible supplies, such as a lift). In this case, if the demand exceeds the contracted power, the supply is not cut off, but the customer pays a penalty on their bill. 

In this article, we will talk about supplies with an ICP, which is the standard method of power control in almost all homes and small supplies.

When it makes sense to lower it

If you have more contracted power than you need, lowering it is a good idea, as you will save on your bill. The cost to lower your power is the ‘hook-up rights’, which are currently €9.04 + taxes. 

But keep in mind that when you increase the power again, you will have to pay those same rights once more, plus ‘access rights’ and perhaps ‘extension rights’, which amount to between €20 and €40 for every kW you increase. 

The distribution company is not obliged to accept more than one power change per year, so if you request two or more changes in that time, they may deny them. So you can't increase it during one season and lower it in another (for example, at a second home you only visit once a year). You also can't just test it out; you have to choose carefully before making a decision. 

The problem with lowering power with an ICP is that you run the risk that if you lower it too much, it will trip (commonly known as ‘blowing a fuse’) and leave you in the dark when using multiple appliances at once. 

The process of resetting the meter to reconnect the ICP is straightforward and is explained in this other article, but it can be a nuisance on many occasions. 

So if you're going to lower your power, you need to be clear about:

• How much power you need.

• Whether you will need more in the coming year: if over the next year you plan to buy equipment that requires more power – for example, an electric car charger – it's better not to reduce it until you know what you'll need.

   

How to calculate the power you really need

As mentioned, it depends on user behaviour. Two identical flats with the same appliances may need different power levels depending on how the user acts; someone who turns all appliances on at once is not the same as someone who runs them one after the other. 

For a few years now, your electricity bill has shown the maximum power you demanded over the last year (or the time the contract has been active if it's less than a year). This information is very valuable to give you an idea, but it's like stock market investments: past performance does not guarantee future results. The maximum shown on the bill corresponds to last year's behaviour; if you behave differently in the future, the power might not be enough or might be too much. Or, even if you replace your appliances with ones that use more or less power, the result will be different.

On the other hand, the figure shown as maximum demanded power corresponds to the average power demanded over a 15-minute period. Therefore, it's possible that when you connect several devices, you exceed that power for a short time and the ICP trips. 

Therefore, the figure on the bill is a guide, but it doesn't guarantee that if you adjust to that power, it won't trip. 

Here you must make a decision:

• Lower the power further, running the risk of the ICP tripping. Be more careful not to run several high-power appliances at once. 

• Leave the power higher, pay more for the power term, but take fewer risks.

Everyone is different: some prefer savings, while others prefer peace of mind. Which do you prefer?

How to request a power reduction

Call your energy retailer, not the distributor (check the customer service number on your bill), or log in to the private area of the app or website. There you can request the power reduction, indicating the new power level. 

Keep in mind, if you want different power levels for different time bands, make sure the agent assisting you understands, or that the field where you enter it online is clear, as this is not a common request. 

With an ICP, you can lower your power in 0.1 kW intervals (only one decimal place).

How long does the change take to take effect?

If the meter is a smart meter (the new electronic ones), it can be very quick – within a day – but allow around 5 days just to be on the safe side. 

Common mistakes when lowering power

With everything explained in this article, here are the common mistakes you can make when lowering your power:

• Lowering it for a very short time: the house is empty (a tenant leaves and you're waiting for another, for example), and the power is lowered to pay less. Then, when raising it again, you'll have to pay contracting rights again, meaning it will cost more than the savings achieved. This also includes the limitation of one power change per year; you must keep this in mind because the distributor might not accept it when you want to change it again. 

• Going below 2.2 kW in a home: consider that a plug-in appliance in a home can require up to 2 kW (washing machine, dishwasher, electric water heater, oven, etc.), so you shouldn't drop below this power level in a residence. If there are non-plug-in appliances, like an electric cooker, they can demand much more, so you would need to leave more power. 

• Dropping below 15 kW: if the current supply has more than 15 kW, it has maxmeter power control. If the customer lowers the power below this, they will lose the maxmeter and switch to an ICP, risking power cuts. It's preferable to leave the P6 power above 15 kW and lower the rest.