The Government will present the energy contingency plan next Tuesday

Ribera rules out restrictions or gas cuts in winter and hopes that the proposal affects homes and industry as little as possible

MADRID, 29 Sep. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The Government's energy contingency plan will be presented after the Council of Ministers next Tuesday, as confirmed this Thursday by the third vice president and head of the Ecological Transition portfolio, Teresa Ribera, in an interview on Canal Sur collected by Europa Press .

"We have to address saving measures, energy efficiency, but always keeping in mind that they must be effective and affect the well-being of families and the productive fabric as little as possible. It is difficult for us to come out of a situation like this unscathed, but by saving, being efficient, we can address this circumstance without having a great impact", Ribera asserted.

In this sense, he has advanced that the plan will include a series of "recommendations" or "facilities" to channel savings and efficiency with the aim of having a "positive effect" on consumer bills.

"From there, we introduce measures that are designed to make it easier for industry, small businesses, these saving behaviors. How regulatory issues can help increase the weight of renewables and therefore reduce gas consumption or other sources that are associated with this price volatility. But I believe that, fortunately, we are in a position to send a message of calm to families and the productive fabric," added the minister.

The head of Ecological Transition has also reiterated that in Spain "no scenario" is contemplated in which it is necessary to apply gas restrictions for next winter.

"Last week we did something, which is also important, which is to give flexibility to the industry. Pay so that they can cut their electricity consumption in very specific, very small sections, so that they can continue operating with the inertial heat of having for a while --an hour, an hour and a half-- that electricity stopped, but that does not affect its production system at all", he defended.

In this sense, and according to the "noise" that, according to Ribera, has been generated on social networks in relation to this measure, the minister has insisted that "in no case is any type of stoppage, rationing or limitation ". "Fortunately for Spanish society," she added.

Ribera has also stressed that, despite the fact that Spain starts from a "very important" supply guarantee position, it also has to take into account in the framework of its forecasts what happens in the rest of the countries of the European Union.

"Our most important contingency is what happens to others, how this energy crisis that is being experienced in the rest of Europe can affect us, either directly due to the impact of the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, or by other factors," he stressed.

In relation to these "other factors", the minister highlighted the "complicated" situation of the French nuclear park, a country that, as she pointed out, needs to import as much electricity as possible from all its neighbors.

He also pointed out the case of Portugal, also affected by the drought and which means that 25% of the electricity it consumes comes from Spain. "Therefore, we also have to be prepared for this," Ribera stressed.

The presentation of the Government's energy contingency plan will therefore take place four days after the Energy Council is held this Friday, which will bring together the Energy Ministers of the Twenty-seven to examine the emergency measures of the European Commission to deal with to high energy prices on the Community market.

This week, sources from the Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge told Europa Press that the Executive will wait for this community summit to be held before launching its proposal, because they consider that what is decided there "is key".

"Until now we have been several steps ahead of the rest of Europe, this time we prefer to wait for the outcome of the meeting and then act," they added.