Under a decree that comes into force in seven days and applies to public buildings, shopping malls, cinemas, theatres, railway stations and airports, heating must not be set above 19C and air conditioning must not be set below 27 C. Doors should be closed so as not to waste energy and lights in shop windows should be turned off after 10pm. Such facilities should display signs or displays explaining the energy saving initiatives. Although Spain is not as dependent on Russian energy supplies as many other EU countries, it has agreed to a 7-8% reduction in natural gas use. The measures, which were published in the state’s official gazette on Tuesday, will remain in place until November 2023. “[This] establishes a series of measures to save energy and use it more efficiently, which are urgent and necessary when it comes to reducing energy consumption in general and reducing our dependence on energy outside the Spanish economy,” the decree states. Spain’s Environment Minister Teresa Ribera also suggested that public administrations and large companies could encourage people to work from home to save energy in transport and buildings. The new measures were quickly rejected by Isabel Díaz Ayuso, the populist, right-wing president of the Madrid region. Ayuso, who has often railed against the central government’s Covid restrictions, said the rules would not apply in her area. “Madrid is not going to go out,” he said. “This creates insecurity and scares away tourism and consumption. It brings darkness, poverty and sorrow, even as the government covers the question of what savings it will make for itself.” Ayuso’s stance was questioned by some who pointed out that 4,500 people living in two sectors of the vast Cañada Real slum on the outskirts of Madrid have been without electricity for nearly two years. Madrid’s regional government blames ongoing power shortages on illegal marijuana plantations in Canada, which it says are putting the power grid under such enormous strain that it is shutting down for security reasons. Mónica García, a doctor and spokeswoman for the left-wing Más Madrid party, tweeted: “Good morning. If you’re at the beach, watch your belongings, stay hydrated and remember that 1,800 boys and girls in Cañada Real have been without electricity for almost two years – which, according to Ayuso, is causing ‘darkness, poverty and sadness’. Thanks.” The need to limit emissions by reducing energy consumption has been highlighted in Spain by two heatwaves so far this summer. “I want to make something very clear,” the prime minister, Pedro Sanchez, said last month as he visited areas hit hard by the fires. “Climate change kills: it kills people, as we have seen. it’s also killing our ecosystem, our biodiversity, and it’s also destroying the things we love as a society – our homes, our businesses, our animals.”
