ahorr.ai · Blog

RL.1 vs RL.2 Gas: The Forensic Guide to Your Access Toll

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Respuesta rápida

The primary difference between

En 30 segundos

✓Locate the 'Peaje de Acceso' section on your bill
✓Check your total annual consumption (kWh/year)
✓Verify if you have a gas boiler for heating (usually RL.2)

Autopsy my bills

Upload your gas bill now to see if you are in the right RL bracket. No calls, no spam, just data.

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AI trained on the Spanish market (~30s)
Privacy-first: ephemeral processing (we don't store your bills)

Transparencia y fuentes

Authorship, methodology and official sources.

Actualizado: 10 de enero de 2026

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Autoría

Equipo ahorr.ai

Auditoría energética (España)

Metodología orientada a decisión: separar coste fijo/variable, detectar extras y comparar opciones con números claros.

Metodología

→Separamos coste fijo (potencia/término fijo), energía y cargos/impuestos.
→Buscamos sobrecostes típicos: potencia sobredimensionada, servicios extra, lecturas estimadas.
→Damos pasos accionables (qué tocar primero) con ejemplos orientativos, no promesas.
→Enlazamos fuentes oficiales y marcamos lo que puede variar por comercializadora.

Fuentes oficiales

Información orientativa (España). Comprueba condiciones con tu comercializadora: precios, peajes, cargos e impuestos pueden variar.

The difference between options (applied to RL.1 vs RL.2 gas)

Understanding these tolls is about the balance between fixed costs and variable usage. It is a mathematical threshold, not a preference.

What they sell vs what you pay

Marketing often highlights the lower kWh price of RL.2 rates, but hides the fact that the fixed monthly term can be significantly higher.

The trap of comparing only kWh

A lower kWh price in RL.2 doesn't help if your total consumption is low; the fixed term will eat any potential savings.

Decision Matrix: When each one suits you

Your consumption profile is the only metric that matters. There is no 'better' rate, only a 'better fit'.

If you consume at peak

High winter usage for heating usually forces an RL.2 profile. In this case, optimizing the variable price is your priority.

If you can move consumption to off-peak

While gas doesn't have hourly discrimination like electricity, reducing total volume can drop you into the RL.1 bracket, saving on fixed costs.

Risks and Small Print (In Human)

Contracts often contain 'vampire' clauses that inflate the bill regardless of your toll type.

Volatility

Free market prices fluctuate wildly. The TUR (Regulated Rate) is often the safest benchmark for RL.1 and RL.2 users.

Permanencies and Extras

Watch out for 12-month commitments tied to 'discounts' that actually cost more than the standard regulated rate.

How to decide with your real consumption

Stop relying on opinions and look at the evidence provided by your own data.

What data your bill sends

Your 'CUPS' number and the historical consumption graph are the forensic evidence needed to determine your ideal toll.

CTA to audit

Instead of manual calculations, use an automated tool to run the numbers against the current market.

RL.1 vs RL.2 Gas Decision Checklist

✓Locate the 'Peaje de Acceso' section on your bill
✓Check your total annual consumption (kWh/year)
✓Verify if you have a gas boiler for heating (usually RL.2)
✓Identify any 'Servicios Adicionales' or maintenance fees
✓Compare your current variable price per kWh against the TUR rate

RL.1 vs RL.2 Comparison Matrix

Feature	RL.1 (Low Consumption)	RL.2 (Medium Consumption)
Annual Consumption	Up to 5,000 kWh/year	5,000 to 15,000 kWh/year
Typical Profile	Water heating & cooking only	Water heating, cooking & gas heating
Fixed Term	Lower monthly cost	Higher monthly cost
Variable Term (kWh)	Higher price per unit	Lower price per unit

The distributor assigns these automatically based on the previous year's consumption.

The Case of the Retired Homeowner and the Hidden Maintenance Fee

A retired homeowner who avoids sales calls noticed his gas bill was consistently high despite low usage. Upon auditing his RL.1 vs RL.2 status, we found he was correctly assigned to RL.1, but a 'vampire' maintenance service was draining his budget.

Hallazgos

✓Contracted power was irrelevant for gas, but peaks were low
✓Found a €6.99/month hidden maintenance service
✓Effective price was €0.23/kWh, significantly higher than market average

Autopsy my bills

Upload your gas bill now to see if you are in the right RL bracket. No calls, no spam, just data.

Related guides

Preguntas frecuentes

It is the access toll assigned by the distributor based on your consumption over the last 12 months. RL.1 is for low users (no heating), while RL.2 is for medium users (with heating).

Remaining in an RL.2 bracket when your consumption has dropped below 5,000 kWh/year, as you pay a much higher fixed monthly fee without the benefit of the lower kWh price.

You can request a review of your toll if your usage has changed, or more importantly, identify and cancel 'vampire' services like non-mandatory maintenance.

Our AI extracts your historical usage from the PDF and simulates what you would pay on different tolls and the TUR (Regulated) rate to find the cheapest option.

One bill is usually enough because it contains the 'Historical Consumption' graph that our AI uses to estimate your annual profile.

Create profile without a bill

Don't have a bill handy? Create a profile to track your energy costs manually and receive alerts.

Disclaimers

Informational tool; not financial advice.
We don’t guarantee savings: these are estimates.