Strong demand for energy as economies rebound from the pandemic, along with infrastructure outages and short inventories, have pushed gas and electricity prices to record highs in Spain.
Last month, the Spanish government presented a package of measures to counteract rising prices, including cutting benefits to power companies and limiting gas prices.
Ribera announced several exemptions to cut benefits, such as fixed-price power supply contracts signed with industrial clients before September 16.
Iberdrola, the largest electricity company in Spain, had offered to freeze prices to industrial customers in exchange for the withdrawal of the clause regarding the cut in benefits.
Other types of contracts will be partially exempted, although Ribera did not want to estimate the amount of money that will eventually be withdrawn from power companies.
“We want to be cautious when estimating the impact of the measures”Ribera said at a press conference after the weekly cabinet meeting. He stressed that prices remain very volatile.
Last month, the government said it hoped to divert up to 2.6 billion euros (3.03 billion dollars) from Spanish energy companies to reinvest in the grid.
That announcement sparked protests from the country’s main power companies, who claimed that the measure undermined investor confidence in electricity markets and the carbon emissions trading system, and jeopardized plans to reduce gas emissions. greenhouse effect.
Spain has also submitted a proposal to the European Union to review its mechanism for setting wholesale electricity prices, so that Member States can have more flexibility in setting energy prices, taking into account factors such as the level of cheapest renewable generation capacity in their networks.
High electricity prices put pressure on heavy industries such as steel and cement producers, some of which have already announced production cuts or closures in Spain.
To protect consumers, also harmed by rising electricity prices, the Government will pay a one-time subsidy of 90 euros ($ 104.74) to poor households to help them pay rising electricity bills during the winter. Ribera said.
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