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ARCHIVED - Murcia studies unconstitutionality of energy saving law
The Region has criticised the government's plan to limit air-conditioning and shut off public building lights at night
Spain’s new Royal Decree on Energy Saving Measures, which will shut down shop display and monument lighting at 10pm and limit air-conditioning in certain public buildings to 27ºC, will officially come into force on Wednesday August 10, despite stiff opposition.
Chief among its detractors has been the Region of Murcia, and authorities are currently studying the legality of imposing the measures, although they have not yet committed to taking the matter to the Constitutional Courts, as Madrid has decided to do.
The Minister of Business, Employment, Universities, Valle Miguélez, has demanded that "given the magnitude of the measures contemplated by the royal decree, and that it has been prepared without taking into account the affected sectors such as SMEs, the self-employed and companies, nor the regional and local administrations, that the Conference of Presidents and a specialised technical forum be convened”.
One of the main concerns is the cost implications for businesses across the Region of Murcia, who will have to install automatic doors by the end of September if they want to continue using their air-conditioning units.
Another point which hasn’t been addressed by the Spanish government is who will be responsible for patrolling premises to ensure they have their thermostats turned down to the agreed level, and more importantly, who is expected to pay for this.
To this end, the Minister of Tourism and Sports, Marcos Ortuño, has asked for an extraordinary financing line for the autonomous communities, since "the energy plan includes many obligations to fulfill, but it transfers the work of surveillance and control to the regional administration, which supposes an unforeseen cost that we must face now”.
In his opinion, when the Region is trying to get back on its feet, "now is not the time to demand new investments and an extraordinary effort."
Despite serious misgivings, the regional government has nevertheless agreed to implement the new restrictions while it looks into the unconstitutionality matter in the background.
Image: Archive
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