The fear of receiving electricity

SPAIN. #EditorialOfTheWeek. The fear of the electricity bill. March 2020, was the month in which #COVID19 became visible in #Spain, the fear of the virus took hold of everyone, and we have lost about 90 thousand lives, the Spanish government coined the phrase "we will leave no one behind". We have to recognise that they have made a great effort, proof of which is the vaccination pattern, which is now around 80% of the population vaccinated, but many people were left behind. It is true that, little by little, we are emerging from the effect of the pandemic.

Just as we are losing our fear of the virus that paralysed the world, we are now afraid to switch on the electricity in our homes, as the MWh per hour is sky-high, today 13 September reaching 154.68 euros, the most expensive price in #Europe. These data suggest that the electricity companies are making a killing, and give the impression that they are charging us interest on the famous "electricity mortgage" which amounts to some 21 billion euros, and that each of us will have to pay 755 euros per year until 2029. In addition to this, the increase in the price of the electricity bill, according to the information matrix, is due to the price of gas and CO2 emissions, which is not borne by the companies, but by the end consumer.

The monster of the fear of the increase of the electricity bill is already on the news, talk shows, and even in the "trash" programs, which are at all hours with the news pattern of the increase of the price of the kilowatt/hour every minute, that's all. By the way, a minister of the first progressive coalition government in the democratic history of #Spain, gave a novel recipe, that to save on the electricity bill, you have to place the washing machine between 24 and 8 hours, and other appliances in the same time slot, because the price is cheaper, we must assume that this recipe was also aimed at the hospitality industry and SMEs. We have to recognise that at least he has said something, as the Minister for Consumer Affairs #AlbertoGarzon, Izquierda Unida's latest trump card, is apparently unplugged from the country's energy reality.

According to the 3rd study on energy poverty in Spain, there are 5.1 million people in the country who declare themselves unable to keep their homes at an adequate temperature in winter, that is, 11% of the Spanish population is suffering from energy poverty. In January 2020, the NGO Amics de la Gent Gran (Friends of the Elderly) reported that in Spain there are around 7,000 deaths a year as a result of energy poverty, which mainly affects newborns and the elderly. Therefore, this part of the population suffering from energy poverty has gone from fear of the virus to fear of the electricity bill. Again, we are leaving "people behind".