Electricity issues

[MauriceW]

Hi,

We are having major electricity issues. Many times a week the circuit breaker switches off.

After having a hand full of so called electricians, we discovered that the contract with Endesa states: MAX 3500 watt.

WHAT? REALLY? SERIOUSLY?

So I am afraid this contract was created for a camping house or a tent.

Come on. 3500 watts for a modern household is waaaay too low.

When running an electric heater plus the washing machine, BOOM, no electricity, because we are peaking above this 3500 watts.

So we asked Endesa to increase this. As a matter of fact we do not want a limit on power usage.

I have never heard of such prehistoric limits. But then, I was raised in a more modern and more civilized world.

Is this normal in Spain?

Can I take these people serious?

How can I get a normal contract that has no power limit?

[El Cid]

You cannot get an unlimited contract. You can have an upgrade easily but the monthly charge will go up.

This is the normal arrangement in Spain, whether you like it or not.

You are on a 3.3kw potencia. You can upgrade to just under 10kw. If you have one of the new smart meters this is easy to do.

Sid

[peteroldracer]

Wait for it - Maurice gets his increase in potencia then the rant starts on here about how much his bill has gone up "and I am only here for a week"
Where is that rolling eyes emoji...

[El Cid]

Yes, it’s a crazy system, but that’s the way it is. It you feel so bad about it, just try paying my monthly standing charge which is over €60.

If you don’t like it, perhaps it’s time to go somewhere else.

Sid

[Enrique]

Hi MauriceW,
You've been a Member on this Forum for 7 years..........we often post on Electrical Problems and Potencia comes up a lot.

3.3Kw is ok....we have Electric water heaters, washing machine, dishwasher , central heating pump and electric heaters . You just don't have them all on at once.

[peteroldracer]

As you say Enrique - it is not what you have got it's how you use it!

[gerryh]

When you say "the circuit breaker switches off" do you mean the ICP, an ELCB or one of your MCBs?
If it is the ICP then the problem is due to your low contracted potencia.
If it is an ELCB switching off then you have a problem, possibly with one of the appliances on that circuit. Nothing to do with the contracted potencia.
If it is an MCB tripping then you are overloading that circuit. Again nothing to do with the contracted potencia.
Can you post details, including the power rating of the offending circuit breaker?

As far as the potencia on your contract is concerned you get what you pay for.
If you want a higher potencia then you pay more. Don't forget that if you request an upgrade to your contracted potencia you might need a new main supply cable and a current boletin, certificate of electrical safety after having your system inspected.
Of course, you might need your circuit breakers and possibly some internal wiring, etc replaced to get the Boletin.
It cost me about 1000€ for my system to be upgraded to the current, pun intended, electrical regulations and get an up to date Boletin.

Cheers
Gerry

[Wicksey]

I've always had 4.4kw here. True I don't have an electric kettle as we have one to put on the gas cooker, but we have 1.5kw water heater, aircon units, a 2kw fan heater in the bathroom, microwave, dishwasher etc etc and it's never tripped out from overloading. Our standing charge is 14.35€ + IVA pm. (We did have a problem with a leaking water heater that kept shorting out the electrics but having replaced that, no more tripping out.)

[maureenscot]

Last time I was over a couple of weeks ago I got my potencia upgraded to 4.4 as it kept going of if even two things were on at same time. I took my latest bill into leccy place. Was advised that no point in upgrading to top (dearest tariff) if I don't need it. So was advised to go to 4.4 and see how that goes first. No problem whatsoever. It was done remotely and operational from very next day. Glad to say, I had no problems, even though my house is all electric, including heaters and boiler. What a difference!

[peteroldracer]

I do sometimes wonder if most people who come to live in Spain have roots in Aberdeen or Yorkshire...it is the same up here in Murcia on the forums with people moaning about how expensive power is, or water or something. Is everyone on the poverty line?

[Wicksey]

Who's moaning .... only El Cid said his is expensive but then he has a very high potencia. Happy with my 14.35€ pm standing charge!

[Pamela1]

Commenting on how expensive electricity is isn't exactly moaning, it's more of an observation and many of the posts on the forum are about observations which generally attract replies and conversation.

[El Cid]

I certainly wasn’t moaning about my electricity bill as it is totally self inflicted. I am with Iberdrola as with such a large consumption I had to move to the commercial market some time ago. They have been very good and I even have just one contact handling my account which is reviewed every year. It has gone done more often than it has gone up! I could not be more happy with them.

My only moan is that, being on a 3 phase supply, I have 3 separate trips each handling about 4.4 kw and if I overload only one circuit it trips. I would have thought that the new Smart meter could be able to look at the total usage at any one time, rather than treat each circuit individually! It means that the devices on each circuit have to be very carefully allocated to avoid this happening.

Sid