Changing your electricity or gas company and applying for the social bonus

Yes. Changing your provider is a consumer right, free of charge and without any interruption to your supply. You only need to sign the contract with the new provider: they carry out all the procedures with the distributor. You do not have to notify or cancel with your previous company, because the old contract is automatically terminated when the new one comes into force.

There is no building work or supply cut because the distributor (the company that owns the cable or pipe reaching your home) does not change. Only the company that sells you the energy and issues your bill changes. The supply point remains the same (it is identified by your CUPS code, which appears on your bill).

The maximum time limit is 10 working days from signing the new contract, which can exceptionally be extended by 5 more working days if complex field actions are needed. For the domestic tariff (2.0TD), no official fee (tasa) can be charged for the change.

As a general rule, there is no penalty. It can only exist if you have a minimum term within a fixed-price contract before its first annual extension, and in that case the penalty cannot exceed 5% of the energy pending supply. Managora reviews your current contract, checks if it has a minimum term and submits the change for you.

In the regulated market, the price is set by the State and published in the BOE, without a commercial margin. For electricity, it is called PVPC (Voluntary Price for the Small Consumer) and varies every hour according to the wholesale market. For gas, it is called TUR (Last Resort Tariff) and is reviewed every quarter. It is only offered by reference providers (electricity) and regulated providers (gas).

To opt for the PVPC, you must be a natural person or a micro-enterprise with a contracted power equal to or less than 10 kW. For the gas TUR, the annual consumption must be less than 50,000 kWh and the supply pressure equal to or less than 4 bar.

In the free market, any provider sets its prices and offers (fixed, indexed, by brackets, with added services) and the contract can include a minimum term. You can switch from the free market to the regulated one, or vice versa, at any time and without a penalty for changing markets.

A key fact is that the electricity social bonus only applies to the PVPC. Therefore, to apply for it, you must first be in the regulated market with a reference provider. You can compare offers neutrally on the official CNMC comparator.

The electricity social bonus is a discount on the electricity bill for vulnerable households. In 2026, it is 42.5% for vulnerable consumers and 57.5% for severely vulnerable consumers, both applied to the PVPC. Households at risk of social exclusion attended by social services that cover at least 50% of the bill can reach 100%.

Basic requirements are being the holder of the electricity contract, the supply being your main residence, having the PVPC contracted and a power equal to or less than 10 kW. In addition, you must belong to one of the protected groups: by income level (measured in multiples of the IPREM and the number of household members), large family, or pensioners receiving the minimum pension, among others.

Beneficiaries of the social bonus cannot have their supply cut off (a prohibition extended until 31 December 2026). If you are already a beneficiary, you do not have to carry out any procedure to maintain the 2026 discounts: the reference provider applies them automatically.

Gas does not have its own social bonus discount on the bill. The support for gas, heating and hot water is the thermal social bonus: a single annual payment deposited into the holder's account, granted automatically to anyone who had the electricity social bonus on 31 December of the previous year and varies according to the climate zone and the degree of vulnerability. Managora checks if you meet the requirements and applies for the social bonus for you.

The electricity social bonus is requested from a reference provider (not the distributor or a free market provider). You can submit it through the provider's website, by email or by post.

The usual documentation is: the application form signed by all adults in the family unit, the identity documents (DNI or NIE, the identification number for foreigners) of those members, the collective town hall registration certificate (empadronamiento) at the main residence, the family book or equivalent document and, depending on the case, proof of the group (large family title, minimum pension resolution, etc.).

The social bonus is renewed automatically every 2 years in most cases, although some situations require submitting a new application (for example, when the family situation changes or the large family title expires).

Managora gathers the documentation, fills in the form, manages the switch to the PVPC if you are still in the free market and submits the complete file for you to the corresponding reference provider.

The change of provider is completed in a maximum of 10 working days from signing. The social bonus application is resolved by the reference provider once the documentation is received; if any document is missing, they will request it before applying the discount.

If you have a problem (an incorrect bill, an unapplied change or a denial of the social bonus), the complaint follows this order: first, to the provider's customer service, which is obliged to answer you (usually within 1 month); then, if there is no solution, to the competent Administration for energy or consumer affairs in your Autonomous Community. For specific conflicts, you can go to the CNMC.

If your company has been changed without your consent (a practice known as slamming), you have the right to return to your previous provider and report the fact to the CNMC and consumer affairs. Always keep a copy of the communications.

Managora submits the complaint for you, follows up and responds to requests until the matter is resolved, without you having to deal with the paperwork.

Real Decreto-ley 7/2026 (the Spanish Royal Decree-Law), of 20 March, has extended the extraordinary discounts of the electricity social bonus (42.5% for vulnerable and 57.5% for severely vulnerable) until 31 December 2026, along with the prohibition of cutting off basic supplies to vulnerable households throughout the year.

The thermal social bonus raises its minimum amount for 2026 and remains an automatic single annual payment for those who had the electricity social bonus on 31 December. A budgetary reinforcement has also been approved to assist more households.

The VAT on electricity was reduced to 10% for contracts of less than 10 kW and for severely vulnerable consumers only between 22 March and 31 May 2026. Upon activation of the automatic review clause, from 1 June 2026 the VAT on electricity has returned to 21% (and the Special Electricity Tax to 5.11%). As of the date of this guide, the applicable electricity VAT is 21%.

Changing your electricity and gas provider remains free of charge and with a maximum time limit of 10 working days, with no official fee (tasa) for the change for the 2.0TD tariff.