Ribera does not rule out a situation of "maximum tension" with gas in the coming weeks

Given the possibility of the definitive closure of the Russian gas supply through the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline

July 8. () –

The third vice president and minister for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, Teresa Ribera, warned this Friday that she does not rule out a “maximum tension situation” in the gas markets in the coming weeks due to the closure of the Nord gas pipeline Stream 1, through which this raw material flows from Russia to Germany.

On July 11, the usual maintenance work will begin on this infrastructure, which, in principle, should remain closed for only about ten days due to these tasks. However, from Germany they predict that these works may become the prelude to a definitive cut in the supply of Russian gas to the German country.

“It is not something that we should rule out 100%, because a situation of maximum tension may occur, not in the autumn, but in the coming weeks,” the minister assessed in an interview on the Antena 3 Public Mirror program and collected by Europe Press.

Asked about the impact that this definitive cut in supply would finally have, the head of Ecological Transition has emphasized that prices would surely increase, for which she has once again defended the possibility that the European Union (EU) joint purchases of this raw material.

In addition, he recalled Spain’s regasification capacity (it has around 25% of the plants of this type in Europe) and stressed the possibility of having to help other EU countries in the event that they need gas due to to a Russian supply cut.

IT RULES OUT THAT IN SPAIN ELECTRICITY IS NATIONALIZED

The minister has also given her opinion on the decision of the French State to acquire 100% of the main national electricity company, EDF, and has argued that the decision of the French president, Emmanuel Macron, must be understood in the context of the country’s energy situation .

“The French State owned 84% of EDF and in France there is a practical domain of EDF (…), which has a huge market share. (…) EDF has a very serious problem, which is 43,000 million of euros of debt and 55% of its nuclear plants (…) stopped for security reasons linked to the design and wear of materials, which makes it very difficult for that to be recovered”, argued Ribera.

“It is a measure that we could describe as a rescue of the main French electricity company in a situation in which it is commercially extremely sensitive,” he added.

However, Ribera has stressed that it is “practically impossible” for a similar movement to take place in any other EU country and has ruled out that this will happen in Spain.

Thus, he has argued that in Spain there are no energy companies that have such an important presence of the State and has stressed that the market “is much more fragmented” and that “fortunately” the accounts of the companies in the sector are healthy and their plants operate “in complete safety”.

MEETING WITH THE FUEL SECTOR

The minister was also asked about the bonus of 20 cents per liter of fuel and whether the measure has had an impact on the rise in prices at gas stations, an issue on which the National Market Commission has ruled this Thursday and the Competition (CNMC), which has concluded that service stations, in general, are not appropriating this discount.

“According to what we have been able to see, and this is information that will have to be studied in detail when it is officially transmitted to us, there is some segment of margins in refining that is not the same as the segment of margins in distribution in gas stations”, he assessed.

“It is a sector in which a very notable increase in margins has been detected in the case of refining and in which it is necessary to see in detail what is happening in distribution at service stations,” he added.

Likewise, he has highlighted the importance of looking at both aspects and whether, indeed, there has been an absorption or an increase in margins that could have benefited distributors “because the Government provided those 20 cents for consumers and not for distributors” .

In this context, Ribera has announced that next week he will meet with the different actors that make up the fuel sector to discuss what is happening with prices, what they think about the special tax that taxes the results of energy companies and also on the contingency plan that will be addressed in Europe and that the States will have to present in a few days.

On this last point, he has insisted on the importance of small gestures, such as sharing a car if there is no alternative in public transport, cautious use of air conditioners and similar measures, which he has considered as the “tips of a lifetime” which, however, can reduce national electricity consumption.