The Council of Ministers has given the green light to the contingency plan committed to with the European Commission to reduce energy consumption by 7%. The document, which has been baptized as “The More Energy Security Plan (SE)”, has as strong points an increase in the protection of the most vulnerable consumers, aid to promote self-consumption and an increase in interconnections.
A plan that will be sent immediately to Brussels, since “it has a very notable strategic value”, confirmed the Minister of Energy Transition, Teresa Ribera. It defines the set of measures that represent Spain’s commitment to boost savings, while ensuring “the well-being of consumers and the stability of the productive fabric”.
In total there are 73 measures, including some of those already announced such as the reform of the regulated price (PVPC) or the reduction of VAT on gas from 21% to 5% and other new ones with notable lack of precision, at least in the information provided so far by the Ministry of Energy Transition and by Teresa Ribera during her appearance after the Council of Ministers.
The most specific challenge is the one that establishes savings in gas consumption with the set of measures of between 5.1% and 13.5%. It will be supported by measures to promote renewable energies, which will receive an additional injection of public funds of 500 million euros, in addition to the 900 approved last year.
The Government has explained that it is also working to reinforce the protection of the most vulnerable consumers with measures that affect thermal and electricity bonds, with more protection and more population coverage. Neighboring communities will also receive aid, yet to be defined, in case they have community gas boilers whose cost will be borne by the Government, as confirmed by sources from the Ministry for Ecological Transition.
In turn, there will be fiscal actions, probably in the form of incentives to facilitate the substitution of fossil fuels for renewable energies. The companies, in turn, will receive a Green Kit to finance efficiency measures.
The boost to renewables will happen, as the sector has been demanding for years, by increasing its current shared energy range limit of 500 meters, although the Government is still studying whether it is the same as the usual two 2 km in Europe or makes another decision.
Neither the plan nor Ribera have shown precision in the battery of forthcoming tax reductions for the adoption of solutions that allow the use of fossil fuels to be replaced by renewable energies.
Regarding the promotion of savings, consumer bills will be clarified with detailed measures of the impact of the Iberian mechanism as well as the average consumption of their neighborhoods and savings councils.
On the other hand, energy interconnections with Portugal, France and Italy will be promoted to enhance the commitment to solidarity with the countries of the European Union.
The plan contemplates long-term measures to promote the energy transition by accelerating the Perte of renewable energies, renewable hydrogen and storage (ERHA) with an additional 1,000 million and the launch of a new decarbonization Perte is announced.
Finally, the Government undertakes to make and publish a monthly follow-up of all these measures.
