They recognize that the uncertainty generated during these last two months has not helped companies and affirm that the minister has not committed to any of her proposed measures.
The Minister of Ecological Transition, Teresa Ribera, will make public – two months after its announcement – the contingency plan to save gas in the country. It has been a month of countless meetings with various economic actors involved. There, the minister has attended, listened and noted the different proposals that have been suggested. However, and according to sources in the industrial sector, the minister did not want to commit to any of these and has not ruled out possible energy savings for industries. What floods with skepticism and fear the possible announcement that the Ministry carries out this coming Tuesday after the Council of Ministers.
“On the part of the minister there has been no commitment to avoid forced savings for our industry. We presented our point of view and they said they would analyze the situation. We do not know what measures they will take. If they need us to lower our electricity consumption, then we ask that this be voluntary and that, in exchange, those who opt for it receive economic compensation through an interruptibility mechanism, “say sources in the sector.
Precisely, in the penultimate Council of Ministers, a service similar to the last interruptibility mechanism was approved (which was eliminated in Spain in 2020), which “will allow electro-intensive companies to receive remuneration in exchange for stopping their production at specific times to ensure the country’s energy supply”. However, from the sector they are skeptical since this week they have known the budget for the CO2 emission compensation.
“It has gone from 244 million to 177 million. We are not going to charge the maximum when the State’s revenues from the auction of emission rights were almost 2,500 million, “they point out. According to the Law on Climate Change and Energy Transition, up to 25% of this collection can be given. With the current numbers they would barely exceed 12%.
On the other hand, according to the industry, they have already been lowering production and reducing their gas consumption. So that savings that are requested of 7% have already covered it “in spades”. They trust that in the imminent contingency plan there will be no measures along these lines, because “we have already made the effort on that side.”
From the employers of the electro intensive launch a message to the energy companies. “In the same way that Spain is going to be in solidarity with Europe, I do not understand why the large Spanish energy companies do not offer us supply contracts at competitive prices. That they stop earning a little bit and thus they will ensure that these customers they have today are maintained in the medium or long term, because if not one will fall in this race. “
Last May, the European Commission made official a report of just under twenty pages in which it pointed to a series of specific sectors to carry out “significant savings”. “The key in the short term is heating in homes and services, as well as transport and mobility, with some additional potential in industrial sectors,” they said. A reality that has since affected this sector. Thus, sources in the electro-intensive industry affirm that everything that is uncertainty affects. It’s raining so much that it’s coming out shell. We would like to have stability.”
According to the latest data provided by the National Institute of Statistics (INE), the most intensive industries in the use of gas for the manufacture of goods are: chemistry, paper, textile or food. We must also highlight others such as the one responsible for manufacturing non-metallic mineral products or coking plants and oil refining. Within these sectors are giants of our country, such as Campofrío, Acerinox, ArcelorMittal, Bimbo, Cuétara or Industrias Celulosa Aragonesa.
Source: La Información
