Som Energía: green cooperative buying power on the open market

Som Energía: green on the certificate, common grid at the plug

Does paying your electricity bill to a cooperative make your consumption renewable? That question runs through the whole debate about Som Energía, the Spanish supplier that buys energy on the market and backs it with guarantees of origin certificates. Insiders explain the mechanism like this: the cooperative purchases on the market the electricity its members consume, just like any other supplier, while at the same time acquiring green certificates from exclusively renewable producers. To count as 100% renewable, those certificates must cover 100% of the energy consumed by members. So far, the official story.

Electricity is fungible and the grid can't tell the difference

The first blow to the romance comes quickly: electrical energy is fungible and indistinguishable from its origin. The grid carries electricity from every source and is more or less renewable depending on wind and sun conditions. When you switch on the TV on a windless night, no hydro plant fires up just for you: you get the same energy as everyone else. That is the core of the scepticism.

The harshest criticism holds that these suppliers are pointless as long as certificates are in surplus. According to a calculation circulating in the debate, in Spain roughly **45% of the energy consumed** can be considered green, and that percentage is rising due to falling consumption. As long as demand for green energy is far below production, buying certificates incentivises nothing new. Some recall that a major utility was already offering this years ago, and that its sales rep privately admitted it served no purpose other than charging more for the same energy.

What it costs and what members risk

The joining fee is **100 euros of share capital**, refundable if you leave the cooperative. The real risk, they point out, is that it goes under and you lose those 100 euros; that is also seen as unlikely. On price, it's nearly a wash: with 4.6 kW contracted and about 1,000 kWh a year, the regulated tariff works out at 0.124985 €/kWh and 35.649 €/kW per year, versus the cooperative's open-market tariff at 0.12749 €/kWh and 33.649 €/kW. The annual difference, taxes included, is a few euros.

The awkward detail: by operating on the open market it is not required to offer the social bonus (a discounted electricity rate for vulnerable households in Spain), and it doesn't. Those who don't qualify for it, however, find the price reasonable.

Supplier or producer?

Here the story gets more complicated. Som Energía doesn't just sell: it owns its own generation facilities — wind, solar and biogas — and its stated goal is to produce as many kWh as its members consume, with plants partly financed by that hundred-euro fee. According to its website, two facilities are producing and four are under construction, not enough to cover demand. It also advertises **3.5% interest** on the investment, with the legal uncertainty surrounding renewables.

Members' experiences are mixed. Some have been with it for a year and sum it up as all fine, plus the satisfaction of kicking the oligopoly. Others, after signing up, find customer service that can't answer questions about the grid operator and gives the impression that they only offer green energy and little else.

The argument that does hold up

The counterpoint has its logic: signing up with a renewable supplier stops paying the big oligopoly players and pressures the rest to invest in green energy so as not to lose customers. And the cooperative model, with local groups and talks, is presented as a real alternative to the status quo. The price comparison between suppliers, with cheaper options on the table, remains homework for each individual.

In the end, the electricity reaching your plug is the same. The only thing that changes is who you pay and what certificate you buy with your bill.