Spain: How families save 10 euros a month on their electricity bill

Spain shows what happens when wind and solar power stop being merely slogans and finally start lowering actual bills.

Ten euros a month on a bill may seem like a drop in a bucket. It’s an amount that vanishes instantly amid last-minute errands, two price hikes at the supermarket, a cell phone top-up, or a packet of laundry detergent bought in a hurry. However, when those ten euros come from solar panels and wind turbines installed in recent years, the situation changes. The issue becomes much less abstract. This is precisely the moment when the energy transition leaves the conference halls and lands on our kitchen table.

According to a new analysis by the research firm Ember, Spanish families are saving about 10 euros a month on their electricity bills thanks to the boom in wind and solar power over the past five years. If the price of electricity had remained as closely tied to the price of natural gas as it was in 2021, an average household on a regulated rate would be paying 19% more. This calculation applies to a rate used by about one-third of Spanish households and is based on data from March and April 2026.

Gas plays a smaller role

The difference can be summed up in a single word: exposure. In 2021, gas dictated the price of electricity in Spain 52% of the time. During the first five months of 2026, that share fell to 9%. This means that, most of the time, the price of electricity in Spain is determined by other technologies—especially renewable energy sources, which are now powerful enough to replace gas-fired power plants at critical moments.

The contrast with Italy, for example, is a real blow to the wallet. According to Ember, over the same period, natural gas influenced electricity prices in Italy about 75% of the time. When gas prices start to rise due to an international crisis, Italian households feel the impact immediately on their utility bills. Spain, on the other hand, manages to cushion the blow: it has, in the meantime, fed massive amounts of solar and wind power into its grid.

The new energy crisis linked to the conflict in the Middle East has made this mechanism even more evident. The cost of generating electricity from natural gas in the European Union rose by more than 50% during the first ten days following the escalation, serving as a reminder of just how vulnerable energy prices remain when they depend on imported fuels and unstable geopolitical markets. In Spain, however, electricity bills have reacted much less sharply than during the 2021–2024 gas crisis.

The groundwork laid

Spain has reached this point after years of massive investment. In 2025, it deployed nearly 10 GW of new wind and solar capacity, a figure that rises to 11.6 GW when self-consumption is included. Renewable energy production thus accounted for 55.5% of the national electricity mix (and up to 56.6% when including energy produced by self-consumption installations). The grid operator Red Eléctrica also highlights another key indicator: in 2025, the country remained a net exporter of electricity for the fourth consecutive year.

Behind these figures are primarily wind and solar power. For the third consecutive year, wind power was Spain’s leading source of electricity, accounting for 21.6% of national production. Solar power continued to grow, reaching 18.4% of the mix and setting new production records. And the official roadmap looks even further ahead: according to the PNIEC (the National Energy Plan), renewable energy is expected to account for 81% of the country’s electricity production by 2030.

Admittedly, Spain benefits from very favorable conditions: plenty of sunshine, favorable winds, and existing hydroelectric storage capacity. It has a natural advantage that other European countries can only envy. However, sunshine isn’t everything. The necessary permits must be obtained, facilities must be connected, power flows must be managed, this energy must be integrated into the grid, and waste during off-peak hours must be prevented. And this is where the difference lies in a genuine industrial policy—not simply in the weather.

Does this mean Spain has solved everything? That would be a very convenient fairy tale—and when it comes to energy, fairy tales never last long. The Spanish system still needs to strengthen its storage capacity, demand flexibility, grid infrastructure, and its ability to absorb excess renewable production during times when solar and wind generation outpace consumption. Gas-fired power plants continue to set the price at certain critical times, and periods of very low prices can hinder the profitability of new investments without appropriate regulations. The next round will be decided here: batteries, pumped-storage plants, grids, and smart consumption.

One thing, however, is already very clear: when a country installs enough wind and solar power, natural gas loses its grip on electricity prices. When gas loses its grip, a war, a crisis in the Strait of Hormuz, or tensions on international markets have a less severe impact on electricity bills. Viewed from this angle, the energy transition is anything but poetic. It’s like an electricity meter spinning—just with a little less stress.

Source: Ember Energy