The royal decree-law for limit the price of gas in the wholesale electricity market It has been validated this Thursday in Congress, a measure supported by the entire parliamentary arch with the exception of PP and Vox, who have labeled it a “radical intervention” and have abstained.
The limitation on the price of gas in the electricity market, which has received the approval of the European Commission and it will start to apply on Tuesday When the prices for the next day for Spain and Portugal match in the wholesale market, the amount of the invoice for consumers with a regulated rate will be reduced by between 15% and 20%, calculated over the twelve months in which it will be applied, up to the May 31, 2023.
Ribera defines the measure as a “firewall”
In her speech before the Plenary of the Lower House, the Vice President for the Ecological Transition, Teresa Ribera, celebrated this mechanism as “a firewall” before the increase in the cost of natural gas and an “unprecedented” cap to prevent the energy crisis from ending up falling solely on consumers.
He explained that the first to benefit from the measure are consumers with rates indexed to the market price, mainly those with the regulated rate or PVPC, which have, among others, the beneficiaries of the social bonus. However, he has said that the measure it will also benefit free market consumersbecause when they renew their contract, the price reference of the wholesale market that will exist will be lower.
Power plants that produce electricity with gas will be compensated by the difference between the limit price (which will fluctuate from 40 euros/MWh the first 6 months of the period and then will go up by five euros at a time until reaching 70 euros/MWh in the last month) and the cost it entails.
“He @Congreso_Es approves the Iberian mechanism that caps the price of gas. Homes and businesses will begin to notice savings on their electricity bills immediately. Also in this crisis, protecting citizens and the productive fabric is our top priority. https://t.co/vwqVAO0Hpz“
— Pedro Sánchez (@sanchezcastejon) June 9, 2022
Sánchez has celebrated the validation of the decree-law on Twitter. “Homes and companies will begin to notice savings on their electricity bills immediately. Also in this crisis, protecting citizens and the productive fabric is our top priority,” he stated.
PP: “It is not a triumph, it is the manifestation of a failure”
“The Iberian exception is not a triumph, it is the unequivocal manifestation of a failure in energy policy”, replied the person in charge of Energy of the PP, Guillermo Mariscal, who considers the cap “a radical intervention of the market”.
In addition, has warned of a cost in compensation to facilities with a price cap of 6,300 million at the current cost of gas, and an additional 1,500 million for each increase of 10 euros. “That is the result of their brilliant negotiation,” he has said.
For Voxthe mechanism to limit the price in these plants It is still “a game of tricksters”“a scam”, “a mirage”, said his spokesperson for Ecological Transition, Mireia Borrás, questioning whether, in the end, it will not even end up causing an increase in the bill: “We will see what is left”.
His counterpart in the PSOE, Germán Renau, has replied to both benches, pointing out that his rejection can only be explained by the fact that “his true wishes are for Spain to do badly.” “That’s not that it makes them bad politicians, it makes them bad people,” he has said.
Several parties support the measure, but criticize some of its points
Several formations, such as the PNV, Bildu or the PDeCAT, have congratulated the Government, since even regretting the insufficiency of the measure, they have recognized the difficulty in achieving it: “We will see the results, but seen in perspective it was not easy”, he said for the PDeCAT its spokesman, Ferrán Bel.
“It is a step, but a big step that until now no one had dared to take,” said Idoia Sagastizabal, economic spokesperson for the PNVwhich has highlighted how, since the measure was announced, gas futures markets have stabilized below half those of other countries.
Oskar Hooch, from collecthas asked the Government for a detailed information campaign to clarify how the adjustment works and how it affects them, to be aware of the real scope of the reduction, while Mireia Vehí, from the CUPhas criticized the compensation to gas generating facilities with the overpayment achieved these months: “It doesn’t make any sense,” he said.
Claiming that her support was only based on the approval of Brussels, the deputy of Cs Mari Carmen Martínez Granados has pointed out that the reduction provided for in the invoice it remains “in half of what the Government promised”. Likewise, he has highlighted that, although the Government denies it, there is a risk that French consumers will benefit from the cap that the Spanish subsidize, since the Executive tried to limit sales to the neighboring country in its negotiation with the Commission.