Electricity Tariff
The electricity tariff is the main variable in mining: the same ASIC at two neighbors with different tariffs lives in two different economies. In Spain, picking a tariff is a craft of its own.
What you need to know about tariffs
The Spanish market offers two paths: a free-market contract with a fixed price and a regulated hourly one, where the price follows the exchange every hour. The average household level sits at about €0.135 per kWh, but the average hides a severalfold spread between night and peak hours.
For a round-the-clock load like an ASIC the hourly tariff is both an opportunity and a risk: nights and weekends run well below the average, evening peaks well above. A farm that powers down during the expensive hours squeezes more out of the hourly tariff than a fixed one gives.
Besides the price per kilowatt hour, a Spanish bill carries a power charge: you pay for the contracted kilowatts as a separate line even when you consume nothing. A miner pulling more than three kilowatts often forces a contracted power increase, and that line belongs in the math before you buy the hardware.
For a business, negotiating the tariff is normal practice: a flat round-the-clock consumer is convenient for a supplier, and that profile earns a discount. At volumes from tens of kilowatts a talk with the supplier brings more than any overclock.
The short version in a table
| Two paths | a fixed contract or hourly pricing |
| Average household level | about €0.135 per kWh |
| The hidden line | the contracted power charge |
| The miner's friend | night and weekend hours on the hourly plan |
| At volume | negotiate the tariff for a flat profile |
How to choose one for mining
Run a month on both tariffs with your own profile: a profitability calculator takes your tariff, not the national average.
Check the contracted power before buying an ASIC: raising it means an application to the supplier and a permanent line on the bill.
On the hourly tariff set a pause for the evening peak: four expensive hours make the daily economics noticeably worse.
Once a year check your contract against the market: Spanish suppliers live in competition, and the silent customer pays more.
An arithmetic example
An ASIC pulling 3.5 kW around the clock is about 2520 kWh a month. At €0.135 the bill lands near 340 euros, and with the night prices of an hourly tariff plus pauses in the peaks it comes out noticeably lower. The yearly difference compares to the price of another power supply, without a single euro invested in hardware.
Related terms
Where to go next on the site
Numbers
Hardware
- ASIC Miner knowledge base
- Antminer S21 tool
Questions and answers
Which tariff is best for mining
Run your own numbers: a flat round-the-clock load often does better on hourly pricing with peak pauses, but the answer depends on the region and the contract. There is no universal winner.
What is the power charge
A fixed line for the contracted kilowatts regardless of consumption. An ASIC may force you to raise it, which makes the project more expensive before the first kilowatt hour.
Will the supplier notice an ASIC at home
Consumption grows noticeably, and that is fine: you pay by the meter. Problems start not with the supplier but with the wiring and the breakers, and those are what you check.
How the terms connect
Every link in the chain is clickable. Orange marks where you are now.
Looking for an ASIC miner
The catalog holds 212 models. You can compare them by hashrate and by joules per terahash, then plug your own rate into the calculator and see what stays in your pocket.
Page written and checked by Denys Klimchuk. Updated .