The Spanish government has approved new measures to limit the surge in energy prices, extending until 30 June 2022 the reduction of VAT to 10% for consumer below 10 kW, the cut of the electricity tax to 0.5% and the suspension of the 7% tax on power generation. This correspond to extending the 60% tax reduction on tax levied on electricity, reducing electricity bills by €10-12bn in 2022. In addition, the social bonus will be extended to 600,000 families and will be renewed automatically, extending discounts for vulnerable and severely vulnerable consumers by 60% and 70% until the end of June 2022. Electro-intensive consumers will benefit from an 80% reduction in the amount of tolls until the end of 2022 (€250m) and from an increase in compensation for the costs of CO2 (€244m). The government will also cut the benefits received by electricity companies in the new fixed-price bilateral term contracts above €67/MWh.
The remuneration of renewables, CHP and waste will be updated (without affecting the financial return of 7.4%) to reduce electricity bills by another €1.8bn in 2022. Authorisation processes will be accelerated until the end of 2024 for wind projects up to 75 MW and solar projects up to 150 MW located in areas with little environmental impact. The regulatory framework for floating PV and renewable gas will be eased to enable 7GW of self-consumption facilities.
For gas, the growth in the rate of last resort (TUR) will remain limited for households and SMEs. In addition, the government aims to raise minimum gas reserves to 27.5 days of consumption (20 days for strategic reserves plus 7.5 days of operational reserves as of 1 November 2022).