Electricity

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mardi
CVO Regular
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Posts: 86
Joined: Wed May 03, 2006 6:05 pm

Electricity

Post by mardi »

Hi All,
This is a follow up question to my winter heating posts. Can anyone tell me a bit more about Potencia on your electric bills. On my bill I have 6.9kva, which I think is the lowest amount. This is fine for holiday use but if you want to run multiple heaters and appliances it is not sufficient. Can anyone tell me what the options are regarding increasing the amount of the Potencia? And how much it costs? As of my last bill I am paying 0.3063 euro per day.
Many thanks
mixerman
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Location: algarve

Re: Electricity

Post by mixerman »

hi mardi ,

we have 20.07 kva which covers a/c, immersion heater ,oil heater as required , costs 1.0524 per day not a lot of difference to give you total peace of mind .?
mardi
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Joined: Wed May 03, 2006 6:05 pm

Re: Electricity

Post by mardi »

Thank you for the reply. It’s a lot more expensive. By my reckoning you are paying 384euros per year compared to my 110euros, that’s about 3x more expensive to have the extra power. Most of the time I am not going to need that extra power.
RichardHenshall
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Re: Electricity

Post by RichardHenshall »

You may not be able to increase the potência if the cabling isn't up to the job. That aside the steps are 6.9, 10.35, 13.8, 17.25 and 20.7 kVA. Prices increase much as you would expect.

If you want to keep your standing charges down you need to learn not to use high power appliances simultaneously - don't boil the kettle at the same time as using your toaster, for example.
Farol
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Location: Essex & Ferragudo

Re: Electricity

Post by Farol »

You say that 6.9kva is not sufficient. Are you actually having a problem?

We have a 2 bed townhouse with aircon in lounge and master bedroom and all the normal appliances: dishwasher, washing machine, electric oven, extractor fan, microwave, fridge freezer, kettle, coffee machine, TV, sat box, etc. We also sometimes supplement the air con with a radiator in the spare bedroom that doesn't have a/c. We don't have a pool.

Our contract is for 6.9kva. I can only think of perhaps a couple of times in approx 18 years when the system has tripped and to be honest on such a rare occasion it's fairly obvious that everything is on at once and we just turn something off, reset the trip and carry on. It has never been a frequent issue.

I would only consider an upgrade to your contract if you are having frequent problems. This seems to also be the approach that lots of bars and restaurants take as I'm sure we all have been somewhere and all the electric suddenly goes off - normally sorted by them resetting the trip after perhaps turning something off (and swearing).
sam
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Re: Electricity

Post by sam »

See https://www.edp.pt/particulares/apoio-c ... -potencia/
It will give you some idea of need. We have 10.35. We had an internal meter and needed to increase to this. First they insisted we had an external meter and said someone would come around to advise were it should be sited. After about 4 weeks we contacted them and they said they did not do this and we would need to sort this with out electrician. We are next to a pole so he sited it as near pole as possible. Then he waited on the allotted day and when they turned up they said the specifications had changed and they would come back when he had done this. He did the work and again after a wait we got an appointment and he waited for them to turn up. This they did but did not bring the cable to do the necessary connection to the supply and said they would have to return another day. He persuaded them to ring the depot and he would go collect the cable whilst they did the prep work. The connection was completed and we could now apply for increased potencia. This can be done on the meter so they do not need to come inside. It was nightmare, so be warned. Since then they have installed a new meter and we now have to submit 3 meter readings each time, but the bills do seem to be lower.
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