Facua Consumidores en Acción (Consumers in Action) has once again called on the Spanish government to cap fuel and energy prices in the face of what it considers a ‘huge increase’, which it believes will exceed the ‘psychological’ level of €2 per litre on average for diesel in the coming days.
The association’s secretary general, Rubén Sánchez, announced at a press conference that it has approached the Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, to ask him to resubmit a royal decree-law to Parliament that would set maximum prices for certain products and services in emergency situations such as those arising from the conflict in the Middle East.
Facua is asking the government to go beyond a predictable tax cut and establish a mechanism for setting caps on the prices of automotive fuels, electricity and gas, so that companies cannot have profit margins higher than those of the month before the start of the war (28 February).
Electricity rises by up to 58%
The price per kilowatt hour (kWh) of electricity on Monday is up to 57.6% higher than a week ago, so that during off-peak hours (from midnight to 7 a.m.) it averages 18.66 cents (including indirect taxes), compared to 11.84 cents on 2 March. During off-peak hours (from 8:00 to 9:00, 14:00 to 17:00 and 22:00 to 23:00), the price has risen from 15.05 to 22.90 pence in a week, an increase of 52.4%. During peak hours (from 10:00 to 13:00 and from 18:00 to 21:00), the price on Monday was 33.78 pence, compared to 26.08 pence seven days ago, a 29.5% increase.
Diesel rises by an average of 33 pence
As for diesel, the average price on the mainland in the early afternoon on Monday was €1.783 per litre, 32.7 cents more expensive than last Monday, when it was €1.456, an increase of 22.5%. Petrol is 16.7 pence more expensive than a week ago, an increase of 11.1%, as the average price per litre has risen from £1.502 to £1.669. The cheapest petrol station on the mainland sells diesel at €0.982 per litre and the most expensive at €2.109, a variation of 114.8%. As for 95 octane petrol, the cheapest petrol station sells it at €1.244, compared to €2.009 at the most expensive, a difference of 61.5%.
Cantabria is the region where diesel has risen the most in price over the last seven days, by an average of 36 cents, followed by Murcia, with 35 cents, and the Basque Country and Madrid, both with 34 cents. Meanwhile, the biggest increases in petrol prices have been in Cantabria, 19 pence; Andalusia, Madrid and Murcia, all three with an average of 18 pence.
Rubén Sánchez has denounced the fact that, in situations such as the conflict in the Middle East, there are companies that take advantage to increase their prices and ‘cash in’ by applying ‘huge increases’ that are not proportional to the prices of energy at source.
The president of the Balearic government, Marga Prohens, has assured that her govrnment ‘shares the concern’ about the foreseeable rise in prices resulting from the war in Iran, although she considers that ‘it is too early to talk about measures’. As she explained on Monday in statements to the media, after being asked about the issue at a press conference held by the Committee for the Fight against Intrusion, it is still too early to take measures as the evolution or duration of the conflict is unknown.
‘I hope it will be as short as possible and that peace, stability and democracy will be restored in Iran as soon as possible,’ she said. She also noted that the Vice-President and Minister of Economy, Finance and Innovation, Antoni Costa, is ‘closely monitoring’ the evolution and consequences of the conflict, especially in terms of possible price increases for families.
She also recalled that the Government is in contact with Balearic citizens who are trapped in different countries and cannot return to Spain to offer them support and coordinate medical assistance if necessary. Currently, there are 220 residents who are still unable to return and who have contacted the goverment. According to Prohens, 17 people returned this past weekend.