The Spanish government has estimated that electricity demand in the country fell by 3.7% in the first week of the energy saving plan, proving its effectiveness, the Pais newspaper reported on Wednesday, citing Spanish Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Ecological Transition Teresa Ribera
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 17th August, 2022) The Spanish government has estimated that electricity demand in the country fell by 3.7% in the first week of the energy saving plan, proving its effectiveness, the Pais newspaper reported on Wednesday, citing Spanish Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Ecological Transition Teresa Ribera.
Spain's energy-saving plan went into effect on August 10, according to which the temperature of air conditioners in public places should be limited by 27 degrees Celsius (80.6 degrees Fahrenheit), and heating cannot exceed 19 degrees Celsius. In addition, the plan stipulates that entrance doors in public venues should close automatically, and the light in the storefronts should be turned off at 10 p.m. local time (20:00 GMT). The plan also includes measures to replace fossil fuels with renewable energy.
According to the newspaper, the estimate of a 3.7% decrease in electricity consumption is based on the difference in demand between the first and second weeks of August, when the set of measures taken by the government was already in effect.
"Despite the high temperatures in the first seven days, the tendency of the effectiveness of the taken measures is obvious," Ribera was quoted as saying by the newspaper.
The deputy prime minister added that the data on the decrease in electricity consumption were preliminary and should be treated with caution, but the government is reportedly confident that the measures taken to date will ensure a reduction in gas consumption by about half, or 7%, of what was planned by Brussels.
In early August, the EU states finally approved a plan to voluntarily reduce gas demand with the possibility of introducing a mandatory reduction in demand for blue fuel by 15% in the coming months.
