Only 10% of businesses without a door locking system have adapted their infrastructure as required by the Government's energy saving plan, according to calculations by the Spanish Confederation of Businesses. The decree to deal with the energy crisis resulting from the invasion of Ukraine requires limiting the temperature of air conditioning and heating in establishments, turning off the lights in shop windows at night and installing a system that keeps doors closed to preserve the temperature inside. The deadline to adapt the stores and comply with these measures expires today, but the employers warn that a large part of the merchants have not arrived on time.
"There are businesses that were created not to have doors and the new law requires a complete rethinking of the premises that goes beyond installing a door" explains Rafae Torres, president of CEC. The employers consider that the Government has not established a "realistic and reasonable term" to undertake these modifications, since it is estimated that between 100,000 and 120,000 the number of businesses need this adaptation.
The merchants demand from the Government a moratorium "of at least three months" to adapt the facilities. The Catalan employers' association PimeComerç has also requested more time today for the adaptation of the stores. Catalan merchants already requested a two-month moratorium, which they demand again today. In the specific case of Catalonia, there is a greater number of adapted establishments. A PimeComerç survey estimates that 80% of the businesses consulted already had automatic doors installed before the August decree, 7% do not have them and, of these, 60% say they need more time to make the adaptation. In addition, 12.6% of establishments with doors have had to make changes and invest money.
“Urban commerce has felt mistreated. After all the efforts we are making, with the rise in energy costs, the fall in consumption and the increase in interest rates, we hope that the Government will not act against trade by immediately applying the sanctioning regime", considers Àlex Goñi, president of PimeComerç.
From the CEC they also insist that, if the decree law is finally going to be processed as a bill and the amendments presented will introduce changes in it, "the logical and sensible thing is to wait for the final law to be approved so that the sector knows with certainty what obligations they have to fulfill.
Finally, they point out that the Executive promised a line of aid for 100 million euros to the autonomous communities so that, if they so wish, they can finance actions in commercial premises that the decree law requires, such as the installation of accesses automated. "The reality today is that practically none have been specified, neither amounts nor payment terms", affirms the employers of small businesses. To undertake these modifications, the CEC estimates the need for some 200 million euros.
For its part, PimeComerç has requested that, as the Barcelona City Council has done, allocating two million euros to the installation of automatic doors, "subsidy lines be extended to the entire territory".
