Frequently asked questions

In case of problems you can call the following numbers:

• 112

• 900 750 750

• 900 102 202

To prevent possible risks of gas leaks, you must take into account the following aspects:

• Close the natural gas stopcock upon leaving your home.
• Have your boiler periodically checked by an accredited professional.
• Install a carbon monoxide alarm.

Electrical leakages can be caused by lack of maintenance, age, damage, etc. There are some indications that could alert of a possible electrical leakage:

• You feel a tickle when handling an electric appliance.
• An electrical appliance heats very quickly without an apparent reason.
• Your electricity bill increases without any apparent usage increase.

If you perceive any of these signs, you must quickly contact an accredited professional to check your installation.

The best way to prevent an electric power leakage is to keep electrical installations in good condition and use good quality materials.

To check for any electrical leakage, turn off and disconnect all electrical appliances. Then check if the meter still running. If that is the case, there is likely a leak.

To be sure, you must call a technician to check it.

In the event of a leak, you have to call an accredited electricity professional who will identify the problem and provide a solution. The professional will be able to locate the origin of the electrical leakage and will replace any defective cables with new ones in order to solve the problem.

Of course you can. Besides supplying natural gas, Incogas supplies electric power throughout Spain. You don’t have to worry about your electric power supply -we take care of everything.

Electronic billing has the same legal effects as tradition, paper billing. The only difference is that e-bills are issued and received electronically. They are fully legal and governed by the Royal Decree 1619/2012, of 30 November, approving the regulation on billing obligations.

Incogas online billing helps everyone care for the environment. You can check everything electronically through the clients’ access portal. An easy, simple, secure, fast and free way to check your bills 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

At Incogas we measure success not only on the basis of economic performance, but also on our ability to respond to our responsibilities towards society. Our objectives are: no accidents, no personal injuries, no environmental damages.

We are aware of our responsibility towards reducing risks of accidents, and that is why our efforts always focus on prevention.

Efficient use of heating helps to considerably reduce energy consumption, to the advantage of home savings and of the environment. When you are not at home, the most efficient thing to do is to turn off the heating.

Another way to ensure energy efficiency is choosing condensing boilers over conventional, low temperature boilers and installing a heat distribution system. Maintenance of the boiler and radiators is essential for continued energy savings in the medium term.

Also, good insulation is important to help energy efficiency, on both insulating closings and windows.

A term used to define a commodities brokerage company acting as an intermediary on behalf of its clients to sell commodities. An agent never owns commodities during a transaction.

Best price at which a seller is willing to sell. Offer price.

Situation in which the future price is lower at each of the following months. The opposite situation is known as Contango.

A volume unit (crude, oil) equivalent to 42 US gallons or 159 litres.

Best price at which a buyer is willing to buy. Purchase price, demand or bid.

Also known as BID/offer. It is a measure of market liquidity. The BID is the best price at which a buyer would be willing to buy and the Ask is the best price at which a seller would be willing to sell. The smaller the difference or spread between BID and ask, the more liquid a market will be.

A type of oil extracted mainly from the North Sea. It serves as a reference in the European markets.

Name given to financial intermediaries who mediate the operations between the various parties in the market.

A heavily regulated aspect under the sole responsibility of the Distributor.

Institution acting as guarantor of all transactions in financial markets. It eliminates the risk of possible non-compliance with trading agreements by any of the Contracting Parties. The clearing house represents the axis of the transaction as it becomes a buyer with respect to the seller and vice versa.

Maximum hourly capacities, for imports and exports, on the borders with neighbouring countries. As these are limited transfer capabilities, it is necessary to know the capacities in order to prevent the net flow exceeding the limits.

Level of electric power subject to a contract (usually financial) for 24 hours a day, every day of the week.

Level of electric power subject to a contract during peak hours (periods of highest demand, e.g., 9:00 h to 24:00 h).

Activity linked to the purchase of wholesale energy or gas (e.g., from a generation facility or a wholesale supplier) for retail selling (e.g., to consumers). It is open to competition (free delivery price + network access fee).

A term referring to the various commodities traded in the markets. Commodities are underlying assets in the markets.

A term that describes a market in which the expected spot price for future months is higher than the current spot price. The opposite situation is known as Backwardation.

A standardised forward contract where the buyer commits to buying the underlying asset and the seller commits to selling it at an agreed price (futures price) at a specified future date (settlement date). Until the specified date, or until a closing settlement is made, daily settlement of gains and losses are made. Since the contract can be cash-settled, the obligation to buy and sell can be replaced in this case by an obligation of a cash settlement.

A contract where the buyer agrees to paying a fixed price for a quantity of energy to be supplied in the future under the conditions specified in the contract.

A contract where seller and buyer agree to exchanging a specified volume of energy at a variable price depending on changes to the reference price. The latter can be a single price or an index or weighted average of different prices.

A commercial company charged with the distribution of electricity or gas, as well as with the building, operation and maintenance of distribution facilities for the delivery of the electricity or gas to consumption points. Each Distributor is assigned a geographical area,  franchised under monopoly conditions (strongly regulated by the State). Distribution companies are obliged to provide free access to their networks in exchange for State-regulated access rates.

It is the power engaged in certain electrical equipment such as engines, transformers, arc welders, fluorescent tubes, induction furnaces, and not registered in the power meter as actually consumed, but which can be calculated through the power factor. In appliances such as stoves, plates or incandescent lamps, all the power required for operation is converted into heat or light (active power). But on other devices such as engines, fluorescent lighting equipment (tubes), electromechanical equipment (washing machines, refrigerators, air conditioning), part of the power is transformed into cold, light, movement, etc. (active power) and the remainders are required for its own operation (reactive power). The greater the reactive power consumption, the poorer the usage of the received power.

Natural gas that has been converted to liquid form by reducing the temperature to -161° C at atmospheric pressure, for ease of transport and/or storage. To be usable again, LNG must be converted back to gas form by supplying heat.

S/he is responsible for the technical management of the Basic Network and secondary transport. S/he ensures the continuity and security of natural gas supply and the proper coordination between access points, storage, transport and distribution. S/he carries out her/his duties in coordination with the managers or users of the gas system under the principles of transparency, objectivity and independency.

Collection of data by means of a specific communication systems or channels.

An intermediary responsible for providing liquidity on certain commodities, by continuously making Bids and Offers on the commodities under her/his responsibility, to ensure shares purchase and/or sale at a specified minimum.

Market where transactions are made through selling and buying bids by market agents for the delivery of power the following day.

Market that allows for adjustments on electricity power purchased or sold on the day-ahead market. Adjustments are made on the Final Viable Daily Schedule through selling and buying bids by market agents. This results in the Final Hourly Schedule.

It is an organized and free market. The primary market operates on the basis of buying and selling bids for power made by market agents (generators, traders, external agents and direct consumers).

A large forward market with standardised contracts with specified prices and delivery set at a specified time. They are defined by the liquidity and security of operations on account of a body which acts as a clearing house. Contracts relate to power, commodities, foreign currencies, interest rates, shares and stock indexes. An example is Meff, the Spanish futures market.

A non-organized market where the parties trade directly with one another, without the oversight of a clearing house, and where contracts are not standardized.

A market where electricity is traded for immediate delivery or delivery in the two days following the settlement, and simultaneously to cash delivery. A commodity spot market.

An option that gives the holder the right, but not the obligation, to buy the underlying asset object of the contract at the strike or exercise price. The holder (called the buyer) pays a fee (a premium) in advance to the guarantor of the option (called the seller). The seller is obliged to sell the underlying asset if the buyer exercises his right. Since the contract can be cash-settled, no purchase and sale would occur in this case, but only a cash exchange. An example: A consumer purchases a call option guaranteed by a broker or trader in exchange for a premium (a fee). If the market price rises above the option price, the consumer can exercise the option (buying from the broker or trader at market price), which means that the broker or trader is obliged to sell when the consumer requests it. In short, it is a maximum guaranteed price for the consumer.

An option that gives the holder the right, but not the obligation, to sell the underlying asset object of the contract at the strike or exercise price. The holder (called the buyer) pays a fee (a premium) in advance to the guarantor of the option (called the seller). The seller is obliged to sell the underlying asset if the buyer exercises his right. Since the contract can be cash-settled, no purchase and sale would occur in this case, but only a cash exchange. An example: A generator purchases a put option guaranteed by a broker or trader in exchange for a premium (a fee). If the market price falls below the put price, the generator can exercise the option (selling to the broker or trader at market price), which means that the broker or trader is obliged to buy when the generator requests it. In short, it is a minimum guaranteed price for the generator.

Institution responsible for the financial management of the system and the exchange of purchase and sale bids for electric power. These functions are assigned to the Spanish Electricity Market Operating company (OMEL S.A.).

Institution responsible for the technical management of the system and for ensuring the continuity and security of the power supply and the correct coordination of the production and transport system. These functions are assigned to the Spanish Electric Power Network (Red Eléctrica de España S.A.).

Payment for the use of the transport and distribution networks, approved by the Government according to the relevant regulation, and which will be set a a maximum.

Losses occurring during the transport of electric power from one point on the network to another. Electric power losses are determined in the provision approving the rates for each year and take account of voltage levels and forms of consumption.

Price resulting from the value of any given hour.

Average price resulting from the daily value. Average of the 24 hourly prices.

Average prices of all hours of the day. It is equal to the average market price.

Average of the peak hour (9:00 to 24:00) prices.

A type of contract whereby the buyer pays for a defined volume, regardless of whether is fully consumed. The “take or pay” is common in the gas market, as a guarantee for suppliers and for any necessary investments. These contracts provide security to sellers and their banks to finance investments in structures.

Activity related to the construction, operation and maintenance of the electric power or gas transmission network. Transport activities are strongly regulated by the State.

Company responsible for the transport of electric power or gas, and for constructing, maintaining and operating transportation facilities. Transport companies are obliged to provide free access to their networks in exchange for State-regulated access rates.

Wholesale trading of physical supply, network access rights (when detached from the supply contract) and financial products whose underlying is the energy price. This trading activity enables energy traders and large-scale consumers to choose between different term contracts and various price provisions, with fixed or variable prices, with upward or downward limits and with fixed or variable quantities, depending on the price or any other circumstance.

TTF (Title Transfer Facility) is the organized Dutch gas market.