When you move, two electricity contracts are at stake: the one for the home you leave and the one for the home you move into. The electricity doesn’t move with you. The supply point, identified by its CUPS code, belongs to the property; what changes is who is named as the account holder and with which company.
Published by: Reazziona Renovables, S.L. Last reviewed: 21 September 2026, against the General Supply Regulation approved by Royal Decree 88/2026.
The short answer
If the new home already has electricity, there is no need to cancel it and reconnect it: you only have to put the contract in your name, and the distribution company doesn’t charge for that change. If the home has no supply, it has to be connected, and that does have a cost. In the home you leave, the most practical option is usually to pass the contract on to whoever moves in rather than cutting off the power.
The home you leave
| Situation | What to do |
|---|---|
| Someone else is moving in | Transfer the contract to their name. Your payments must be up to date, and the distribution company doesn’t charge for the change. |
| You own the home and rent it out | The tenant can put the contract in their name, provided they are up to date with payments. The regulation makes clear that this doesn’t count as a termination followed by a new connection. |
| The home will be empty | Request termination in good time. The distribution company must be notified at least five working days in advance. |
Before you request termination, think about who comes next: reconnecting a supply involves costs that a change of account holder doesn’t. If you had other services contracted together with the electricity, they end at the same time as the supply unless you say otherwise.
What if your contract had a minimum term? An individual on the 2.0TD tariff (supplies of up to 15 kW) can terminate the contract at any time without a penalty. The only exception is fixed-price contracts before their first annual renewal: in that case a penalty only applies if the termination causes the supplier a loss, and it can never exceed 5% of the estimated energy still to be supplied.
The home you move into
If it already has electricity in someone else’s name
You have two options, and in both the supply point stays the same:
- Keep the contract and put it in your name. This is called subrogation. Accepting the terms of the contract doesn’t oblige you to pay anything the previous account holder owed.
- Sign up with the company of your choice. Anyone who uses the home with legal title can sign a new contract for that supply point, and the previous one is terminated. You don’t have to stay with the previous occupant’s company.
Legal title (justo título) is whatever proves you are entitled to use the home: the deeds if you bought it or the tenancy agreement if you rent, for example. The regulation also recognises as legal title the effective use of the home by women who are victims of gender-based or sexual violence and live there independently.
If it has no electricity
If the previous account holder terminated the contract, the CUPS stays the same, but you have to sign a new contract and pay the grid access charges (and the extension charges, if they have lapsed). If the home is newly built, a new supply point is created with its own CUPS: you pay for the service connection, the hook-up and the inspection, and you need the electrical installation certificate, known as the boletín. The details are in the Madrid City Council consumer guide (in Spanish).
If the installation is old
When the account holder changes on a low-voltage contract more than twenty years old, if you don’t change the contracted power or the access tariff option, the distribution company cannot ask you for a new installation certificate or inspect the installation.
Contracted power: time to review it
The power you inherit was chosen by someone else for the way they lived. If more or fewer appliances will be running at the same time in your home, it is worth reviewing. Bear in mind that changing it has a cost: you pay for the inspection and the work on the meter, depending on whether you raise or lower it. And if you have renovated the installation, you will need the installer’s certificate to change it.
If you have a bill for that home, the Reazziona bill analyzer shows you the CUPS and the contracted power. To decide how much power you need, see our guide to comparing tariffs by price per kWh, power and annual cost.
What to have ready
- The CUPS, which appears on any bill for the home.
- The document that proves you are entitled to use the home.
- The ID card or NIE of the new account holder and the bank account for direct debits.
- A photo of the meter, with the reading visible, on the day you hand over or collect the keys.
And if you are moving to another area, check the map of Reazziona solar neighbourhoods to see whether there is one near your new address.
Frequently asked questions
- Does it cost anything to change the account holder?
- The distribution company doesn’t charge for the new contract that results from a change of account holder. If you also change the contracted power, that change does have a cost.
- Do I inherit the previous occupant’s debts?
- No. Taking over their contract through subrogation doesn’t mean taking on any payment obligations the previous account holder had.
- Do I have to stay with their company?
- No. With legal title you can sign a new contract with the supplier of your choice for that supply point, and the previous one is terminated.
- I rent. Can I put the electricity in my name?
- Yes. Anyone who uses the energy with legal title can change the contract to their name, provided they are up to date with payments, and in rentals this change is not treated as a termination followed by a new connection.
- How much notice do I need to give to terminate?
- The distribution company must be notified of the termination at least five working days in advance. If your supplier manages the contract, it gives that notice with the same advance period.
- Does the bono social pass to the new account holder?
- No. The right to the bono social (Spain’s social discount on electricity) is not transferred with the contract. Anyone who needs it in the new home has to apply for it, and only the reference suppliers (comercializadoras de referencia) apply it, on the regulated PVPC tariff.
Everything in this guide comes from articles 13, 28, 31, 32, 39 and 40 of Spain’s General Regulation on the Supply, Retail and Aggregation of Electricity (in Spanish).
Errors and omissions excepted. This guide is for information only and does not constitute legal advice: the reference is always the regulations in force published in the BOE (Spain’s Official State Gazette).
Moving with Reazziona
If you are moving into a new home and want your electricity with Reazziona, you can ask us to handle the change of account holder together with your contract. We review every request by hand.
Learn more
If you want to learn more about how the electricity sector works, Reazziona Academy offers courses, including Fundamentals of Energy Sales.