We have one already

As I have already explained, by law, BP have to inspect the gas supply every five years and that is what the man in the white Fiat is doing at a cost of nearly 58 Euros per household. 

Now I read that a ruling from the Ministry of Industry obliges electricity providers to control supplies to each client. This is achieved by means of an Interruptor de Control de Potencia (ICP) - a power control trip switch - which, for reasons of safety, cuts the supply if the consumer attempts to draw more than the contracted level of power.

The ICP, which is separate from a standard circuit breaker (diferencial), is located in the fuse box and is typically tripped by having too many electrical appliances switched on at the same time.

The electricity supplier Endesa is offering its consumers, who do not already have an ICP, the choice of either buying a unit from an authorised electrician at a cost of between 60-100 Euros or renting one from Endesa at a cost of six cents per month for a single phase supply or 12 cents a month for a three-phase supply. Whether buying or renting, however, consumers must pay Endesa 9.04 euros plus IVA to seal the ICP unit.

I imagine if Endesa are doing this then Iberdrola, who we are all contracted to will be as well. The good news is that I have checked our fuse box to find that we already have an ICP fitted so at least we will be spared a 100 Euro bill for that.