Living here · Guides
Nobody moves to the Costa del Sol for the paperwork — but the lights, the water and the wifi all have to go into your name, and the electricity bill in particular looks nothing like the one back home. Here is what you are actually paying for, who supplies what, and how to set it all up without the usual head-scratching.
The single most confusing bill for newcomers. It has three parts, and the first one surprises everyone.
You contract a certain amount of power (potencia), measured in kW, and you pay for it every month whether you use it or not — even with the house shut up and the main switch off. Contract too little and the breaker trips when the oven, kettle and air-con run at once; contract too much and you pay for capacity you never use. A lot of newcomers call the supplier early on to nudge it up to around 5.5 kW. Set it deliberately.
Charged per kWh, and on the regulated tariff it changes by the hour — the gap between cheap and expensive hours is wide, so running the dishwasher or charging the car at the right time genuinely saves money. Electric heating is the usual reason a winter bill jumps.
VAT and a special electricity tax go on top of everything else. The rates have been moved around repeatedly in recent years, so the exact percentage on your bill may differ from last year's.
Water is a local monopoly: one company per municipality, decided by your town hall, so the name on the bill changes as you move along the coast.
You sign the contract with whichever company covers your address — usually with your ID and the property's details, sometimes a small deposit. The simplest check: look at the previous owner's or tenant's bill, or ask us, and we'll tell you who it is.
This is where Spain quietly beats most of Europe: fast fibre almost everywhere, at prices that tend to pleasantly surprise.
Fibre-to-the-home reaches the large majority of properties on the coast, and most people bundle internet, mobile and sometimes TV together. Roughly €30–55 a month gets you 300 Mbps to a full gigabit.
The big, English-friendly names — Movistar (the incumbent, widest coverage), Vodafone and Orange — are the usual starting point, with the fullest customer service and TV packages. For lower prices without a long lock-in, Digi, Lowi and Pepephone run on the same big networks for less (though their support leans Spanish-speaking).
When you buy or move in, you rarely start from scratch — you take over what's already there.
For electricity and water, ask for a change of holder (cambio de titular) rather than cancelling and reconnecting — it's cheaper and avoids new-connection fees. Set everything to direct debit (domiciliación) so nothing lapses while you're away. By EU law a supplier may not refuse an account from another EU country — though some still ask for a Spanish one in practice, so having one makes life easier. Have your NIE, your IBAN, the escritura or rental contract, and the property's cadastral reference to hand — the same documents do for all three.
On completion day it's worth noting the meter readings so the handover is clean. We do this with our buyers as a matter of course — if you'd rather not wrestle with Spanish call centres, we'll help you line it all up.
Scan to save this guide
toptenmarbella.com/utilities-guide.html
Electricity, water, internet, direct debits, meter readings — the unglamorous part of moving in. Tell us about the home and we'll help you set it all up, in your name, without the call-centre Spanish.
Talk to usGuide written October 2026. Tariffs, tax rates, suppliers and prices change often and vary by town and property — the figures here are rough guidance, not quotes. Always confirm current rates and the operator for your exact address with the supplier or your town hall before you sign. General information, not financial advice.
