The Spanish government will take measures on Friday to contain the price of electricity

MadridThe Spanish government is preparing a shock plan for this Friday, for which the Council of Ministers will meet extraordinarily, to deal with the consequences of the Iran war. However, this Tuesday the Minister of Economy, Carlos Cuerpo, and the Minister of Ecological Transition, Sara Aagesen, have advanced decisions in different directions: containment of the price of electricity, mitigation of the rise in fuel and fertilizers for the most exposed sectors and a social shield to protect the most vulnerable, despite the fact that sources from the Spanish government downplay the possibility that the suspension of evictions or the automatic extension of rental contracts as claimed by Sumar will be included. At the same time, to try to stop the increase in fuel prices, 11.5 million barrels of oil will be released from Spanish reserves in coordination with the International Energy Agency with the aim of containing the price.

"They will be structural and conjunctural measures," specified the spokesperson for the Spanish government, Elma Saiz, who added that they will be explained by the Spanish President himself, Pedro Sánchez. She asserted that they will be "flexible" so that they can adapt to the evolution of the conflict in Iran, since one of the relevant elements to be determined is the temporality of the decisions that will be made on Friday.

This is because Minister Cuerpo has warned that they will be "perimeter" and not generalized as in the case of Ukraine, where 20 cents were subsidized on the price of fuel, which was absorbed by the market. In fact, he has presented a report in which it is evident that the price rise was worse in 2022 with the invasion of Ukraine by Russia. In this way, he justified that the measures taken should be surgical and aimed at the agri-food sector because it is the most affected right now by the increase in the price of fuel and fertilizers. A fact that can directly affect, the Spanish government has admitted, the increase in the price of the shopping basket.

In any case, for Aagesen, beyond conjunctural measures, it is necessary that within the shock plan to be approved on Friday, structural reforms such as "the electrification of the economy" or the strengthening of wind energy are also included: "The sun, the rain and the wind will never be blocked in the Strait of Hormuz," considered the minister.