The PP advocates the extraction of minerals used for energy, such as uranium or lithium, and does not rule out 'fracking'

Proposes a fixed electricity rate for the most vulnerable and eliminates VAT for food producers for donation

MADRID, 16 Ago. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The Popular Party has presented this Tuesday a series of parliamentary initiatives related to energy, such as implementing a fixed electricity rate for the most vulnerable consumers, eliminating VAT for food producers who donate to social centers and supporting the investigation of those minerals that can be used as energy resources, without ruling out 'fracking'.

This was announced this Tuesday at a joint press conference from the party's national headquarters by its Deputy Secretary for Regional and Local Coordination, Pedro Rollán, and the Deputy Secretary General of the PP in the Congress of Deputies, Guillermo Mariscal.

It has been Rollán, when asked by journalists, who has assured that the PP has "no reason to rule out" the technique of 'fracking', used to extract fossil fuels that are in the subsoil. "It is an issue that can also be addressed and it will be the scientific criteria and the great agreements that will determine the 'road map', which should not be framed in a single legislature, but in a time horizon of generations", he has stated. .

Of course, the leader of the PP has drawn attention to the fact that 'fracking' has generated "unwanted situations", but before being ruled out, he continued, it could be analyzed.

"The truly important thing is to attend to science and the needs of Spanish society and companies, to be more competitive and less dependent in this scenario of energy crisis", he said. All in all, Rollán pointed out that in Spain "there are enough reliable and environmentally friendly energy sources that have not caused any problem for Spanish society and economy".

For his part, Mariscal has been in charge of presenting the three parliamentary initiatives prepared by the Popular Party on energy, the first of which is to extend the useful life of products, in order to "reduce emissions and energy charges."

They want to capture this purpose in food, so they will propose that VAT disappear for manufacturers or farmers in the agri-food industry who can donate food to charities that help those who need it most in this "economic crisis". "It seems that it is more expensive to destroy or abandon food than to donate to a charity to support those who are going through the most difficulties," he warned.

Secondly, Mariscal has pointed out that the PP aspires to remove from the Climate Change Law the articles that include the prohibition of any type of mineral investigation or extraction in Spain. "It does not seem reasonable that in the face of this energy crisis we cannot or do not have the right, access or knowledge of what minerals our country has," he denounced.

Mariscal has referred "fundamentally" to uranium, which is used in nuclear power plants, and lithium, one of the components with which batteries are manufactured for the storage of electrical energy. "We want to increase energy reserves and with the law that we currently have in force it is impossible," he lamented.

From the PP they intend to allow research on minerals "always within the principles of efficiency, technological development, safety for people, the environment and, of course, the territory." "We intend to change a dynamic that, in our opinion, is clearly detrimental to the future of our country," he indicated.

Lastly, Mariscal has announced the purpose of the PP to create a fixed rate that "gives security" to the most vulnerable consumers so that they can know "for sure" how much they have to pay, before recalling that the current discount, from 20 and 40 percent, is based on the 'pool', which is "flexible, varies and does not give security".

In this PP proposal, it would have to be the autonomous communities that identify who would be the beneficiaries of that rate, with sections that would not differentiate "only for economic reasons, but also by location and climatic zone."

To finance this aid, the formation led by Alberto Núñez Feijóo considers that it should be financed with the "large income" that Spain receives from the auctions of CO2 emission rights.

At the same time, Mariscal recalled that the electricity bill has risen 45% in just one year. "It is known as energy poverty, which has disappeared from the vocabulary of more than one government leader and his associates," he reproached.