The Government of Spain announced today that it is temporarily setting ceiling on the reference value of natural gas used by power plants, in a move which, as stated by Minister of Energy, will immediately reduce costs for more than a third of individuals and for 70% of industry.
The European countries are struggling to manage rising gas and electricity prices, which have been pushed up by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and to mitigate their impact on consumer purchasing power.
“With this decision, Spain is leading a structural change in European energy policy,” said a government spokeswoman. Isabel Rodriguez at a press conference he gave in Madrid.
The European Commission agreed two weeks ago to allow Spain and Portugal to initially set a price cap of 40 euros per megawatt-hour, with the price limit set to rise to an average of 50 euros over the next 12 months.
The Minister of Energy Teresa Ribera stated that the ceiling will immediately reduce costs for 37% of individuals and 70% of industrial enterprises, and will benefit all consumers within a year.
«In the next 12 months we will have a special protection system in Iberia in a context of great instability“, He added.
Spain and Portugal have persuaded Brussels that they should be allowed to manage their own electricity prices, which are often inflated due to expensive fossil fuels, although the Iberian Peninsula has large amounts of renewable energy and its interconnection with the rest of Europe is small.
Ribera added that Brussels would give the final green light for the plan within 10 days.
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