As happened with telephony and the internet, since July 1 the electricity market has been liberalized. This means that from that moment on, the free market has arrived, or what is the same, that each company sets the price it deems appropriate for the volts that are supplied to homes and businesses.
Since September 2, the list with the prices of each company has been published by the Cabildo of Lanzarote, through the departments of Energy and Consumption, on its [website->http://www.cabildodelanzarote.com/tema.asp?sec=Noticias&idCont=5065&idTema=17], so that the people of Lanzarote can know the options they have. In that list you can find the new electricity rates of the different companies dedicated to the commercialization of low voltage in Lanzarote and the Canary Islands, also known as Last Resort Marketers of low voltage.
Until now, consumers contracted their services with the distributors, but from that date, several marketers have joined the market through which electricity can be contracted.
In fact, some users will have already received a letter from their company in which they talk about this whole process and in which, in addition, they try to ensure their permanence.
The theory is that now the consumer will have the possibility to contract the energy with the company they want, taking advantage of the offers or discounts they offer, as already happens in the mobile phone market.
Using the same simile, what this liberalization of the electricity market has also led to is "permanence contracts". Some companies already offer significant discounts on the condition that they do not switch to the competition in one or two years.
Low consumption, protected
At the same time, the Government has created a refuge rate, the so-called Last Resort Rate (TUR), to which low-consumption customers (almost 25 million) can adhere. Consumers who have a contracted power equal to or less than 10 Kw. can benefit from the TUR, according to the Ministry of Industry, Tourism and Commerce. That is the power contracted by the vast majority of Spanish households and that supplies enough energy to a normal house or even a large house; only a large mansion would use more than that power.
All users who have contracted a power of less than 10 Kw. will automatically depend on one of the five large marketers, Unelco Endesa in the case of Lanzarote, without having to sign anything and under the same current conditions, with its maximum price fixed, through Ministerial Order, by the Government. However, in addition, from now on they have the option of comparing the prices of other companies and changing operators if they deem it appropriate.
New rates every six months
These rates are subject to changes every semester, so the Area of Industry, Energy, Commerce and Consumption of the Cabildo of Lanzarote has committed to updating the data on its website every time these billing tables change.
For the Cabildo, this initiative will provide consumers with all the necessary information for choosing their electricity operator, being able to know the rates and prices that each company is applying in the different time slots.
The companies that are currently operating in Lanzarote are: Endesa Energía XXI SL (Unelco), Iberdrola Comercializadora de Último Recurso SAU, Unión Fenosa Metra SL, EON Comercializadora de Último Recurso SL, and Nexus Energía SA.
