The government will force the electricity and gas companies to provide information on the consumption of the residents of the neighborhood for comparison, although it does not indicate when this service will be available
Spain’s 1.6 million central heating households (neighborhood communities that have communal boilers) will be protected from the significant price hikes in their gas bills expected for this winter. The More Energy Security Plan (+SE) includes the adoption of a “protection mechanism” for these consumers, so that their bill is reduced by the state’s approval of the “necessary budgetary measures to finance them”, it indicates that the document this has been approved Tuesday by the Council of Ministers.
From the Ministry of Ecological Transition, they refer to the coming weeks to specify this measure that would benefit more than 1.6 million households who claim protection by not being able to respond to their bill individually.
In addition, the plan provides for greater coverage of the electrical social bonus and thermal social bonus, which will increase the volume of the protected population, although it is not currently specified how this measure will be implemented. Minister Teresa Ribera stated at a press conference that vulnerable consumers are currently paying the same on their electricity bills as before the war thanks to tax support, the Iberian mechanism and the increase in the discount from 25% to 60% of the social bonus. For its part, the average domestic consumer’s bill is 33% lower than it would be without the measures taken so far, he said.
Another of the measures approved by this new +SE plan is greater transparency in electricity and gas bills. The government will force companies to include information about the consumption of the residents of the neighborhood in the bill to make decisions about savings. In concrete terms, the bills of citizens with a consumption of less than 50,000 kWh per year will contain a comparison with similar customers in the same zip code. Advice will also be given on how to consume efficiently and information will be given on the application of the Iberian mechanism with detailed information on the cost of the bill without this measure.
How is this neighborhood information collected? For now, no details have been given, but from the ministry led by Teresa Ribera they explain that it will be a mechanism that will be set up with the CNMC through zip codes, without specific information from the neighbors, but rather anonymous and aggregated.
The government assures that the plan as a whole will assume a natural gas saving of 5.1% to 13.5% from August to March. The range is so broad because they recognize that many actions will depend on the level of penetration achieved. Ribera explained that this calculation is not based on less economic activity that reduces consumption, but rather on “demand efficiency” and the switch to alternative fuels for gas in much of the industry.
A very important point will be the promotion of self-consumption, including extra support for the installation of solar roofs. For example, the government approves EUR 500 million for new projects and, although it is not known to what extent, is raising the current limit of 500 meters between the generation plant and the point of consumption to facilitate the development of new models of shared self-service. -consumption.
As for the digital meters, the ministry assures that it will invest 40 million euros between 2023 and 2024 so that the neighborhood blocks will change their analog meters, allowing them to give more details about the consumption of the citizens and thus have more precise bills based on the consumption of each neighbor.
All this is added to the plan that came into effect last August with the Royal Decree on Energy Saving with measures until November 1, 2023 that oblige public buildings, shops, train and bus stations, airports, cultural spaces and hotels to use air conditioning to 27 degrees. and heating to 19 degrees in winter. It is also mandatory to turn off the lights in shop windows and public buildings that are empty after ten o’clock in the evening.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
