Gas or induction cooking: the fixed fee decides the bill

Gas or induction cooking: the fixed fee eats up the savings

Is it cheaper to cook with gas than with induction? The short answer is that it depends less on the price per kilowatt than on something almost nobody looks at when signing up: the fixed fee. A user from a family of four details that he pays **between 45 and 50 euros every two months** for natural gas for the stove and water heater, and breaks down from memory some **9 euros of fixed fee** plus **4 euros of meter rental**. Another similar case raises the bimonthly fixed fee to **13.94 euros with VAT included**, almost 7 euros a month before lighting a single burner.

There lies the crux of the matter. Cooking consumes little. The fee, no.

How much does the natural gas fixed fee cost

A calculation circulating in the conversation is blunt: **300 euros a year in fixed costs** just for having the supply contracted, and that's without counting the annual boiler check, which runs around **80 euros** and which suppliers push customers to sign up for "at all costs," according to a forum user. For someone who only uses gas on the stove, the conclusion is almost arithmetic: you pay more for the availability of the service than for the calories you actually burn.

The alternative that comes up again and again is the butane bottle. A two-person household calculates that it lasts them **almost 4 months**, which works out to **4.25 euros a month**. Zero fixed fees, zero meter rental, zero mandatory inspection. The price of that freedom is physical: you have to carry the bottle upstairs, swap it and clean the burners. Some consider it "a negligible inconvenience" compared to the bill.

Induction: how much contracted power do you really need

Against the myth that switching to induction forces you to increase your contracted power, the technical argument being made is the opposite: **there is no need to increase the contracted power**. Induction hobs have maximum rated powers of between **5,800 and 7,000 W**, similar to ceramic hobs, but they are rarely used at full blast. With suitable pots and pans, consumption turns out to be cheaper than a resistance ceramic hob and than gas, according to this line of thinking.

The classic electric resistance hob, on the other hand, is portrayed without mercy: it takes time to heat up, doesn't lower the heat quickly when something is burning and carries a thermal inertia that ruins control. Induction retains some inertia, but nothing comparable. The adjustment period — understanding what setting 9, 5 or 3 means — takes a couple of months and a few sad steaks.

The fire you can't see: why professionals keep cooking with gas

The most repeated argument in favor of gas is not economic, it is sensory and professional. In restaurant kitchens, it is argued, **they all have gas burners** and no electric hobs. The explanation given is analog control: instantly going from maximum to minimum heat, seeing the flame, adjusting without numeric menus. Induction, they say, only heats the bottom, the oil cools down too quickly and the heat doesn't spread through the pan.

The rebuttal comes from home cooking itself: cooking shows use induction because they are sponsored by hob, pot and oil manufacturers. And an uncomfortable question: are we good enough cooks to need restaurant equipment? The analogy used is that of the carpenter and the cheap sander: just because a professional doesn't use it doesn't miccionan it isn't worth it for you.

The fine print the salesperson doesn't mention

The most illustrative case is that of someone who signs up after hearing that the fixed fee is **2.22 euros a month** and consumption **almost 6 cents per kWh**. The answer is unanimous: that price doesn't appear on any real bill. On top of the fixed fee and meter rental come other items with different names — property levy, toll charge, various fees — that push the bill up to almost **30 euros every two months** in some cases. The repeated recommendation: ask in writing for all fixed costs, whatever they're called, before signing.

The context that changes everything: the offensive against gas

Behind the calculation lies a broader thesis: that natural gas has been a bad deal for Spanish wallets, with a very expensive price tied to supply negotiations with Algeria, and that people are abandoning gas to save money. At the same time, the opposite movement is pointed out: fiscal pressure on electricity through consumption tiers, without distinguishing whether four people live in the house or whether heating is by heat pump. The result, according to this reading, pushes toward hybrid solutions: **butane for cooking and solar panels for everything else**.

Meanwhile, the decision remains open. And with these numbers, it's no wonder someone hesitates: what's strange is that anyone signs without reading the fixed fee.