This Tuesday, BE delivered a bill to revoke the possibility for consumers to finance the costs of the social electricity tariff, defending as a “minimum of social justice” that the electricity companies bear them.
“What we propose is to return to the previous model, when BE automated the social energy rate: that millionaire companies like EDP, the electricity companies, pay the social energy rate and not the common electricity consumers, or, as some voices on the right has already suggested that the general state budget should cover it. This is completely wrong, the electricity companies should be the ones who pay,” defended the parliamentary leader of BE, Fabián Figueiredo.
In statements to the Lusa agency, the bloc’s deputy highlighted that “the social energy tariff currently benefits 758 thousand families” and maintained that “this is possible thanks to the automation that BE managed to introduce in 2016” in the State Budget , as previously the bureaucratic process to qualify for this rate was “relatively difficult.”
The blocists maintain that The previous PS government, “in a completely irresponsible manner, allowed the cost of the tariff to be transferred to consumers’ bills, That is, people will have a higher cost on their bill and will pay the social energy rate.”
“This is completely false, what it is doing in practice is increasing the profits of electricity companies even more,” he warned, recalling that EDP obtained profits of more than 900 million euros in 2023 and “has not yet paid taxes.” owed for the sale of the Duero dams.”
In addition to not wanting consumers to bear the costs of this rate, BE also wants to prevent “other alternatives from being found” such as financing through the General State Budgets.
“It should not be public spending that supports the social energy tariff nor should it be common taxpayers,” he said, considering that bearing the costs of this tariff “is the minimum social justice that is required of these companies.”
Fabián Figueiredo said that he hopes there will be a parliamentary majority that approves this bill, considering it “elementary justice.”
The Energy Services Regulatory Authority (ERSE) estimates a total financing need of 136.5 million euros for the electric social tariff in 2024, of which around a third (44.4 million euros) will be borne by a large number of electrical production centers and the rest two thirds (92.1 million) under the responsibility of 36 suppliers.
To this amount we must also add 14.8 million euros (5.3 to electricity producers and 9.5 to suppliers), which cover the period from November 18 to December 31, 2023, as the approval of the change by the previous Government.
According to the directives published on Friday evening by ERSE, relating to the new distribution model of the financing of the social electricity tariff, and which will come into force on April 1, suppliers are free, if they wish, to pass on the costs in the final consumer.
In its statement during the public consultation on the new model, the ERSE tariff council estimated that The impact on the final consumer could increase the bill by 1.13% in the free market and 0.93% in the regulated market.
In the previous model, the costs of the social electricity tariff were allocated to the largest producers, but last year, the European Commission decided to consider complaints submitted by EDP, which led to sharing the costs with a wider range of companies .
The social electricity rate consists of a 33.8% discount compared to regulated market prices, for lower-income families.
Source: Observadora
