Spain’s Demand For Electricity Falls 3.7% In First Week Of Energy-Saving Law
Spain News
Published: 19 August 2022 17:02 CET
Demand for Spanish electricity has fallen by 3.7% in the very first week following the approval of the new energy-saving decree.
The new law which was given the green light by the Council of Ministers on August 1, aims at reducing the country’s energy consumption and reliance on foreign gas.
Under the law, the Spanish Government set a limit on air conditioning usage within public buildings and spaces including bars, shops, restaurants, shopping centres, transport hubs, cinemas and theatres.
Shops must also turn off window lights by 10 pm with unoccupied buildings also obligated to turn off to save energy. Street lights must also be switched off at 10 pm.
At a press conference in Menorca, Minister for Energy Transition, Teresa Ribera said that energy usage had fallen by 3.7% between August 8-14 in comparison to the previous week.
The Minister praised households and businesses for their “civic commitment” and pointed out that the drop in consumption had also come at a time when the country was having to endure yet another blistering summer heatwave.
Under the legislation, air conditioning units must not operate at less than 27c. Heating must not go above 19c with businesses having to install automatic closing doors to maintain temperatures.
However, the regulation does not apply to certain premises including hospitals, medical centres, schools and hotel rooms and is not being enforced in private homes.
For now, the restrictions do not apply to private households or private companies, however, homeowners have been urged to check the energy efficiency of their boilers. They are also being offered incentives to switch to solar energy.
The general plan is in line with that of the EU and the commitment with Brussels to reduce the demand for foreign gas by 7%. The new legislation is expected to contribute around half of those savings.
During her speech, Ribera also gave an update on the so-called “Iberian Exception” which is a cap on gas prices which came into effect two months ago, in an attempt to reduce the impact of price rises within the wholesale markets on consumers.
Under the new measures, the country has already saved almost 1.4 billion euros compared to what it would have cost without the cap.
Between June 15 and August 17, Spain had an average price per kilowatt hour of 143 euros which is far lower than what is currently being paid in other EU countries including France where the average has been 378 euros, Italy with 422 euros and Germany where the average has been around 319 euros.
"Today, all of Europe has a price of over 500 euros per megawatt hour," Ribera said.
Source
https://www.catalannews.com/society-science/item/electricity-demand-fell-3-7-during-first-week-of-energy-saving-decree
https://www.canarias7.es/economia/demana-energia-baja-20220817124642-ntrc.html
https://spanishnewstoday.com/electricity_demand_in_spain_drops_37_per_cent_with_new_energy_saving_measures_1815454-a.html
