The energy-saving measures decided by the Spanish government as part of a European plan to reduce Russian gas imports, at the forefront of which is the limitation of air conditioning, came into force today in Spain in public areas.
A government decree thus limits air conditioning to 27 degrees Celsius in most commercial establishments, cultural venues (cinemas, theaters) and transport infrastructure, such as airports or railway stations. During this winter, these areas should limit the heating to 19 degrees Celsius at most.
“The aim of this plan is to save gas to prepare for this winter in the event that (Russian President Vladimir) Putin decides, faced with sanctions, to cut gas supplies to Europe,” explained Juan Grozar, director of the Institute for Energy Diversification and Conservation at the Ministry of Ecological Transition, in an interview on Spanish public television.
The decree, which was issued last week, also stipulates that lights in shop windows and lighting in public buildings will be turned off from 10 p.m.
Air-conditioned or heated spaces are also obliged to install by September 30 a mechanism that will ensure the automatic closing of their doors to avoid energy waste.
The decree does not specify the penalties that will be imposed on violators. Moreover, the supervision of the respect of these measures is left to the various regional communities, some of which, those governed by the opposition conservative People’s Party, have received many criticisms.
The municipality of Madrid, which categorically opposes these measures, thus announced that it intends to file an appeal with the Constitutional Court, the country’s highest judicial authority, due to ten points of the decree, which it considers unconstitutional.
Spain had taken the first measures on public buildings in late May, lowering the thermostat and encouraging telecommuting by civil servants as part of efforts called for by Brussels to end Europe’s energy dependence on Russian gas, which became apparent after the start of the war in Ukraine.
EU countries pledged at the end of July to do “everything they can” to reduce their gas consumption by at least 15% from August 2022 to March 2023, compared to the average consumption of the last five years during the same period. period.
Spain and Portugal, citing their lower level of energy connectivity with the rest of the continent, got their own target from Brussels to be a reduction of just 7%.
“We believe that we will not achieve this 7% savings” with these measures alone, however, admitted Grozar, who said that other measures will be announced soon.
He also recalled that Spain’s dependence on Russian gas is “very low”, unlike most other EU countries, and that Spain’s gas supply is “guaranteed”. Spain’s main suppliers are Algeria, despite recent tensions between the two countries, and the United States.
Source: RES-MPE
Source: Capital
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