Llardén (Enagás): The Spanish energy model “has given the country a security of supply that others have not had”

2023-09-22 14:21:50

the president ofEnagás, Antoni Llardenconsider that the Spanish energy model “has given the country security of supply to Spain that others have not had”. He explained it this Friday in the presentation ofassets‘in’Hostal La Gavina of S Agaró, in Girona. “Spain has exported electricity and gas and at the right times have guaranteed security of supply in countries like France, Portugal or Italy”.

In a debate-like conversation with the director of Economic Information of Iberian press, Martí Saballs, Llardén reviewed the energy situation since Russia invaded Ukraine. “It was very serious, because of theextraordinary dependence that Europe had on Russian gas“, he recalled. In this sense, he emphasized that the Union has opted to implement a common energy policy. Because before the war, “all the countries had an energy matrix with little in common”. Thus, “faced with a situation of crisis, the European energy sector did not exist,” he said.

Russian gas reached 45% of the total consumed in Europe, and in some countries exceeded 80%, and even reached 100%. “This caused prices to explode,” he said. If before the war in the United States the prices were at 15 euros per megawatt/hour, in Europe at 25 and in the Middle East at 35, after the invasion the United States went on to have them at 30, Europe at 300 and the East to 150.”Some prices out of place“. But “at the moment the situation is more controlled. We have full gas tanks in almost all of Europe”, he celebrated. When the war started they were at 29%, now at 94%. Spain already has them at 100%.

Llardén considers that when the war broke out “Spain was much more prepared than other countries“. And it currently has a “reasonably good” energy model, with “plenty” of renewable energy, burning practically no coal or oil, and with “a good gas network, but which acts as a last resort”. Thus, s ‘has shown “cautiously optimistic” about the evolution of energy costs in the medium term. Spain is currently at 38 euros per megawatt hour and has guaranteed supply “for a month or a month and a half”. If the war were to end, ” prices would drop immediately,” he confirmed.

Lastly, he talked about the necessary decarbonization, for which “there is no single solution, but a sum of solutions”. And he has placed the debate on the use of nuclear electricity. “It remains to be seen if it can be considered useful for making green hydrogen.” Because it’s not renewable energy, “but it’s probably decarbonized electricity.” And he has concluded that green hydrogen will help replace coal, oil and ultimately gas, “but without eliminating them 100%.”

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