Practical matters of Spain - Electricity

The standard electric current in Spain is 220 volts but it is common in older places to find the old 115 volt supply. Both systems use plugs with two round pins. Travel adaptors can be purchased to convert plugs from other countries. Many appliances in Spain are not earthed and it is common to find electric sockets in bathrooms, near water supplies so extreme care should be exercised. In rural areas supply is often interrupted during storms.

The national electricity company is Endesa however recent legislation has opened the electricity supply market to other companies. When you move to Spain you will need to sign a new contract with your supplier. You will need to prove residency at the address and you will need to have a bank account set up to pay your bills. You may also need to provide a previous bill from the address along with your passport or Spanish NIE number.

Importing electrical goods into Spain
If you are coming from the USA and your electrical appliances are 110/120v then you will need a transformer in order to use them. These transofrmers are available in Spain however you must ensure that you purchase the correct wattage according to the appliances you will use. Many modern appliances now come with a small switch that enables you to use on 110/240v.

If you are coming from an EU country such as the UK and the appliances are 240v then they should work fine in Spain. You will however have to fit a Spanish two pin plug. Do not be tempted, especially on larger appliances to simply use a plug adaptor on a long term basis. These adaptors tend to be very weak, get very hot and can work loose, causing a fire hazard.

You might find that 240V appliances work slowly. Such as kettles taking longer to heat. This is because they are designed to work at an optimum voltage of 240v whereas in Spain the voltage can vary. Sometimes it can be as low as 200V.

Electricity bills in Spain

Your electricity bill in Spain will consist of two parts. The first is the number of units you have used. The second is a standing charge. This is calculated on the capacity that your contract allows. This is controlled by the trip in your main circuit box. The higher the rating, the higher your standing charge will be. See an example of an electricity bill here

The electricity wiring in Spain

There are very few ring mains in Spain. Most circuits are designed to be stub circuits (or spurs). Although the earth cable is green or green and yellow, the colours for neutral and live tend to vary. Light switches are often placed on the neutral side meaning that even when it is switched off there may be live current in the appliance.

The standard Spanish plug

There are two types of electric plug in Spain. The small two-pin plug is suitable for small appliances that are double insulated and don't need an earth. The larger two-pin plug has an earth strip on the side of the plug. The live and neutral are not distinguished as the plug can be inserted either way up. Spanish plugs do not carry their own individual fuses like English plugs.

Wind generated electricity

Spain has a large number of wind farms and wind turbines generate a large percentage of the country's electricity. Spain also has many solar power farms, some of huge proportions.

When it comes to renewable energy, Spain is very advanced and quick to accept new methods.

Televisions, DVDs and Video recorders

Scart plugs (often called Peritel) are widely used in Spain meaning that televisions and DVDs can quite easily be connected. HDMI is also standard on all new Spanish televisions and DVD players.

UK televisions can normally be used in Spain. Older sets may be able to receive the PAL picture but not the sound. Modern sets are often fine as they accept multi-standard signals. Television sets from countries where the standard is NTSC or SECAM will not work on the Spanish PAL system, unless you run the signal through a multi-standard video or DVD player.

In 2010 Spain is expecting to be fully digital with television transmissions. This means that almost all UK sets will be 100% compatible.

See a full feature on television in Spain here

Fitting Sky television in Spain

Although, according to Sky's contract terms this is illegal, it is common practice for residents in Spain to have Sky fitted. There are lots of installation companies but choose carefuly. You will probably need a dish of at least 1.2m diameter. You will need to have a UK address to register with Sky. If you do not have this then your installer should be able to provide a card for you but expect to pay more for this. Free-to-air channels using ASTRA may need a larger dish. Sky boxes purchased in the UK will be fine to bring to Spain with you and can save you a a lot of money.

Computers

Computers from anywhere in the world will be fine in Spain. You will have to change the power plugs of course. You will also need to chage the system settings to take account of the new time zones etc. We would highly recommend that a power surge unit is fitted to your computer power supply. The current in Spain varies from time to time and is often cut or has major spikes.

Spain's electricity and the environment

It has to be said that when it comes to generating electricity, Spain has gone a long way to ensure renewable sources. Spain is littered with wind turbines and currently they produce on average 40% of the country's electricity. It was reported that during high winds one weekend that Spain's windturbines produced 53% of the country's electricity - the equivalent of 11 nuclear power stations! At one point on Sunday morning Spain was producing more electricity than it was using.

In the past when this has happened windfarms have been switched off. Now Spain exports surplus electricity.

Spain has the third highest number of turbines in the world, following the USA and Germany.