Electricity bills back to normal

We can have some beautiful, sunny days during the winter in Spain. For some, its the best time of year and certainly if youre an active person who likes cycling or walking theres nothing like it. The problem can be how to keep warm in the evenings.

Many people rely on electric heating. This has caused some concern over the past couple of years as costs have escalated and there have been some confusing changes to charging policy. However, there has recently been some good news as far as your bills are concerned. Instead of every month, there will be a welcome return to two-monthly billing and only after a metre reading has taken place.

The alternating metre/estimate bills have been something of a nightmare for people trying to budget. One month you can be charged a nominal figure of 7 to receive a bill the month after of 100! Hardly helpful when youre trying to keep your bank account in the black. However, if you actually preferred the monthly yo-yo system you will still be able to pay that way.

The resumption of bi-monthly payments for electricity does not apply to everyone. Some people opted to enter the free market at the end of 2010. This means that they have already been paying their bills every two months but at a rate established by the market. If you chose this method you can still revert to the fixed rate model set by the government if you prefer, or vice versa.

The good news here in Spain and yes, there is some is that winters may be chilly but they dont last long. Well soon be putting the jeans into storage northern Europeans at least and searching out the shorts and t-shirts. However, we can always find a new problem to overcome. For the rest of the year ex-pats in Spain are working out how best to keep cool.