HOUSEHOLDS on the regulated electricity tariff in Spain could pay more than €100 in September for the first time since 2022, according to prices recorded during the first half of the month.
The largest increases in electricity prices are being recorded during off-peak hours, which are usually the cheapest.
According to consumer association FACUA, if the prices seen in the first half of September hold then the average household on the regulated PVPC tariff will pay €106.57.
That is 10.3 per cent more than August and 30.5 per cent more than the same period in September 2025.
READ MORE: Bad news for wallets in Spain as rising fuel prices push inflation to highest level in three years
It is the steepest month-on-month jump of 2026 and caps a climb that began in the spring. The average bill has risen from €60.99 in April to €75.63 in May, €79.08 in June, €93.65 in July and €96.65 in August.
To find a more expensive September, you have to go back to 2022 and the energy crisis, when the figure reached €137.93.
In the years since then September bills came in at €76.37, €70.62 and €81.49.
FACUA bases its calculations on a household with 4.4 kW of contracted power using 366 kWh a month.
“Off-peak electricity is rising fastest”
The detail likely to catch households out is where the increases have landed.
Across the first fortnight of September, electricity cost an average of 30.36 cents per kWh during peak hours, 20.96 cents during the middle band and 24.22 cents during the valley – the overnight and weekend period. This includes indirect taxes.
Compared with September 2025, that represents a rise of 24.6 per cent at peak, 34.5 per cent in the middle band and 53.6 per cent in the valley.
In other words, the off-peak rate that Spanish households have been told for years to organise their washing and dishwashing around is rising more than twice as fast as the expensive peak rate.
Tax break expired
It comes after a temporary tax cut has quietly disappeared.
Royal Decree-Law 7/2026 reduced VAT on electricity from 21 per cent to 10 per cent for supplies under 10 kW between March-June 2026, and cut the special electricity tax from 5.11 per cent to 0.5 per cent.
Both measures lapsed on June 1.
A later decree allowed them to return in August and September if electricity inflation rose by more than 15 per cent year-on-year. But this was not applied.
The relevant electricity CPI measure rose by 8.4% year-on-year in July, below the threshold specified in the decree.
The underlying cause remains the wholesale market.
August saw the highest monthly wholesale price since February 2023 at €118.24 per MWh, up 72.8 per cent on a year earlier. The increase was linked to higher gas costs and continuing disruption to energy routes and supply expectations following the conflict in the Middle East.
Six times cheaper at midday
The one part of the day that remains cheap is the middle of it.
Between 10am and 6pm in August, when solar output peaks, the wholesale price averaged €26.37 per MWh. Outside these hours it averaged €164.19, with peaks above €200.
So the average wholesale price was more than six times higher outside the 10am–6pm solar window.
Solar made up 29.2 per cent of the country’s generation mix in August – enough to push midday prices below €20 at moments, nowhere near enough to prevent the evening spike.
For homes on the Costa del Sol, where consumption is weighted towards the evening, that mismatch is expensive.
“High electricity bills are one of the biggest concerns we hear from homeowners considering solar,” Brandon van Assen of Mi Techo Solar, a solar installer in Malaga, told the Olive Press.
“On the Costa del Sol, a lot of electricity is used in the evening, when people come home, switch on the air conditioning, cook and use other appliances.
“Solar can significantly reduce the amount of electricity you buy from the grid during the day, while a battery allows you to store surplus solar energy and use it later in the evening. That’s why we’re seeing more and more customers choosing solar and battery storage together.”
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