The Spanish Association of Ceramic Tile and Floor Manufacturers (Ascer) has pointed out that the National Fund for the Sustainability of the Electric System (FNSSE) It is a new “blow” in the industry’s energy bill, as it could mean an energy surcharge of 213 million euros in five years for the ceramic sector.
According to Acer in a statement, the fund “torpedoes” the competitiveness of the Spanish ceramic industry vis-Ã -vis European and non-Union partners. “In the current situation, with companies experiencing liquidity problems and with great uncertainty, the impact of the FNSSE it will be unaffordable for a large number of companies “, he pointed out.
Along these lines, he regretted that the cost generated by the implementation of the Fund in the 2021-25 five-year period for the ceramic sector would amount to 213.5 million additional euros, a “figure that represents practically all the annual profit of the sector”.
The patronal azulejera has highlighted that in the current context, “in which the companies in the sector present a weakened income statement due to the Covid-19 crisis”, the impact of the FNSSE will leave a large number of people out of the international market. companies, “since they will not be able to transfer this additional cost to the final price and it will reduce their competitiveness”.
Acer recalled that the Ministry of Ecological Transition has drawn up a draft law that extends to all companies that sell energy -and not only to electricity as happened up to now- the obligation to finance the 7,000 million allocated each year to renewables, cogeneration, and energy recovery. Waste ethics (Recore).
Distribution
The FNSSE establishes a distribution between the energy sectors – petroleum products, natural gas, and electricity – to avoid increases in the price of electricity, “which would discourage the electrification of the economy and investment in renewable sources, contrary to the objectives of decarbonization”Acer pointed out. The obligations of the contributions to the FNSSE fall on the trading companies of the energy sectors, and the cost will end up being passed on to the final consumers, he added.
Acer has presented a battery of allegations in order to defend the sector and the industry against a “new lack of sensitivity” of the government for the industry, “the only link in the economy that today is guaranteeing stable and quality employment and that is supporting in good measure the Spanish economy in this context of health and economic crisis “, highlighted the employers of the sector.
The allegations are mainly aimed to preventing sectors that do not have an alternative to the use of natural gas, and that compete in international markets, are not harmed by the creation of this Fund.
The FNSSE will come into force in a phased manner in the period 2021-2025, starting with a weight of 20 percent in 2021 and reaching 100% in 2025. Year in which, if this approach continues, “the energy bill The sectoral ethics will increase by 14% “, Ascer indicated.
According to Ascer, this fund implies an extra cost for the sector without offering anything in return, when the sector has shown the “poor” state of the networks and the “excessive” cost of energy compared to its competitors. “So not only are there no means to improve the system, but also, it is intended to pay more for the same deficient system,” he stressed.
“Without alternatives”
“Once again the industry is being harassed to abandon the consumption of gas in an unrealistic term and without offering viable technical alternatives or guaranteeing their competitiveness, “said the employer, who considers it” contradictory “that the government insists on supporting the industry, when mechanisms are being proposed in parallel like the FNSSE, “which not only hits the competitiveness of the industry, but totally discourages investment and the arrival of foreign funds.”
Ascer has meant that the sector assumes its commitment to decarbonization, not in vain has reduced its emissions by 50% in the last 30 years and it is a leader in energy efficiency in its processes, however, it believes it is necessary to “be realistic and have a clear technical and competitive horizon to undertake this transition”.
“Day by day there is no energy alternative to natural gas that guarantees technical viability and is competitive. Forcing the sector to make this transition in its current state means pushing it to its destruction and, with it, the 60,000 jobs that depend on it “, Ascer concluded.
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