2023-11-14 19:27:55
In the absence of the new Government being formed, the acting Secretary of State for Energy, Sara Aagesenannounced this Tuesday the intention of its department of extend the public subsidy on the cheap gas rate –Last Resort Rate (TUR)–, as well as that created specifically for the Neighbor communities. The measure, included among those that must decline next December 31had generated some confusion among the more than 6,000 communities of owners beneficiaries to whom the companies had informed that they would have to change their rate before that date.
“Our intention is extend the measure of the TUR and the Neighborhood TUR. I believe that it is essential to give those signs at this time when there continues to be turbulence so that consumers know that we will always look for those protective measures“, has said Sara Aagesen this Tuesday a forum organized by El Periódico de la Energía. This measure had a budget of 3 billion eurosof which only 644 million euros until July 2023, so there is room for help.
The regulated gas rate is the most cheap on the market. It is reviewed every three months based on gas prices in the wholesale market. Its price used to be similar to the rest of the free market rates that took it as a reference, but in the spring 2021 The international price of gas began to rise and the Government decided, in September, to contain the impact of this raw material on the regulated tariff (TUR) by limiting its quarterly increase.
«Our intention is to extend the TUR and the neighborhood TUR: we will always look for consumer protection measures»
????The sec. of State for Energy, Sara Aagesen, in the #StorageForum organized by @Per_Energia pic.twitter.com/LGZ3kb0yee
— Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge (@mitecogob) November 14, 2023
So it was a deferred payment, that is, the difference between the real increase in gas and that limit was paid by consumers, but after the fact. But a year later, the Ministry for the Ecological Transition decided to subsidize the debt contracted with the marketers, as well as the debt that occurred throughout this year and create a special TUR rate for neighborhood communities so that all consumers had the same level of help. Both end on December 31.
The announcement would thus be added to others advanced by the third vice president and acting minister for the Ecological Transition, Teresa Ribera, such as her intention to maintain the VAT reduction on electricity and gashe cap on the income of electricity companies, what limits to 67 euros per megawatt-hour its new term supply contracts, as well as the extension of discounts on electricity and gas bills (bono social). And although The current Government will change starting this week, Ribera is one of the ministers who is expected to repeat her position.
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Another of the measures that Ribera wants to extend is the extension of the Iberian mechanism (gas cap), something that the Government had already requested a year ago – when it announced the first extension – but that depends on Europe deciding. extend the crisis time frame beyond December 31 of this year. Brussels has proposed extending it for three more months, but the final decision will be up to the countries within the framework of the Energy Council which will be held within a month, as explained several weeks ago the acting vice president.
On the other hand, the pact between PSOE and Sumar promises to “double” the number of beneficiaries of the social bonus, which is currently located in 1.5 million beneficiaries, according to the investiture agreement. The current figure is very low if we take into account the number of recipients of this aid in 2018 (2.44 million) and the increase in households suffering from energy poverty in Spain.
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