The trap of switching from Spain's TUR tariff to Iberdrola's free market

The trap of switching from Spain's TUR tariff to Iberdrola's free market

Why does an electricity company call you right when your bill switches from estimated to actual consumption? The short answer: because there's money in it. The warning going around is specific. When customers ask about their actual consumption, Iberdrola recommends moving the contract from the Tarifa de Último Recurso (TUR, Spain's regulated last-resort tariff) to a new free-market contract under the Iberdrola Generación brand. The switch is presented as an improvement. In practice, according to the analysis being circulated, it's a transfer of captive customers to a market where the price per kilowatt hour is set by the retailer.

What changes when moving from the TUR to the free market

The official argument is all about discounts. The only real discount applied in the free market is **10% off the fixed power term**, a figure that falls short compared to what sits on the other side of the scale. Because in the free market, the price per kilowatt hour is set by the retailer and can be raised to the legal maximum. Once you sign up to the offer, the first noticeable effect is an increase of **more than 10% in the price per kWh**. That increase weighs far more on the bill than the power discount.

The fundamental difference lies in what can change under each tariff. The TUR varies with the TUR itself and with regulated concepts, activities and values. The free market adds to that variations in access tariffs, the same regulated concepts and, on top of that, the **annual CPI** stipulated in the particular conditions. The only thing they commit to respecting is the commercial margin, and only for a limited time. With that cocktail, the likelihood of electricity prices going up is higher in the free market than on the TUR.

Power cuts, social bonus and lock-in: what they don't tell you

There's fine print that never comes up in the sales call. On the TUR, the deadline for disconnection for non-payment is **80 days** (20 as the standard period plus 60 for the formal notice). In the free market it drops to **30 days in total**. That detail explains much of the interest in moving everyone to the free market: they get paid sooner.

The second point is the **bono social** (social discount for vulnerable customers). While on the TUR you can apply for it if you meet the requirements; in the free market, you can't. The third is the lock-in: in the free market there's a one-year commitment which you either fulfil or pay a penalty for. And if after a year you decide to go back to the TUR, you have to stay on it for another year before you can switch retailers. Add to that the extra services given free for the first three months, which, once the customer stops checking the bill, start costing **10 to 12 euros a month**.

Contracted capacity and the penalty almost nobody looks at

On the TUR there's a consumption penalty for anyone with a contracted capacity above **10 kW**, something unusual for a household user. It's the only point where the TUR doesn't always come out on top, and it's worth checking before making a move in either direction. For all other cases, the conclusion is clear: keeping the old TUR contract is, of the bad options, the least bad one.

The doorstep scene

The pattern repeats itself. A salesperson turns up at your home, insists on seeing a bill, promises a discount on the fixed consumption and assures you nothing will change. When you ask for the contract they want you to sign, they say they don't have it. When you say you'll look over the offer calmly, they never come back. The advice everyone repeats is blunt: never hand over your bill and distrust any offer that doesn't come in writing.

The liberalisation of essential services was sold as an advantage for the end user. Just look at who calls, what they offer and what they hide to see who really benefits.