The Spanish Government is preparing the redesign of the energy tax after the large companies affected have made it known to the Executive, in public and in private, that the levy does not make sense in a context of price normalization and that it should be activated a system of incentives for investments. Yesterday, Sánchez assumed for the first time the theses of the sector, also verbalized by the PNB.
The energy giants embodied in their strategic plans important industrial bets to promote the green transition. Repsol, the company most affected by the tax (it paid 450 million), invested 4,362 million between January and September 2023, 82% more than a year earlier, in decarbonisation projects. With five plants –Tarragona, Bilbao, Cartagena, A Coruña and Puertollano–, the energy company allocated 41% of this investment, 1,800 million, to green hydrogen, circular economy or storage projects in Spain. What Repsol is asking is to modify the levy and accompany it with aid for companies that, like this one, reinvest part of the profits. Both the president, Antoni Brufau, and the CEO, Josu Jon Imaz, recently warned that if the future state tax framework does not help, these investments will look to other countries, such as Portugal and France.
Endesa spoke in a similar vein. The electricity company led by José Bogas emphasized that it has financial margin to increase investment in Spain over the next three years, mainly in distribution networks. At the same time, however, he also warned that, if there is no clear commitment, this investment will not be implemented. In Italy, where its parent company, Enel, operates, the return on investment in these networks is 8% (in Spain it is half that). If the premium does not reach 5%, the bet is not profitable, according to sources in the sector. Naturgy, for its part, set an investment of 13,200 until 2025, focused on the promotion of renewables (biomethane, wind and photovoltaic) and distribution networks.
Cepsa was also critical of the extraordinary tax, which caused losses of 116 million in 2023. The company led by Maarten Wetselaar called for "a regulatory and fiscal framework that supports the industry" in the face of investments. On the horizon are 8,000 million for green hydrogen projects, biofuels and charging points.
The sector demands that the Executive assumes that Spain is facing "an opportunity to carry out a green reindustrialisation" and, for this reason, a "fiscal and support framework" is needed for these investments, business sources explain.
The position of the energy companies was yesterday shared for the first time by Sánchez, who, in an interview with Antena 3, reaffirmed the intention to "redesign" the tax in force after an era of profits "for not having done anything" which is disappearing.
Sánchez also used the verb "incentivize" to refer to powerful business projects. "We see that the electricity bill is reduced and that there are industrial projects that need this coverage of an energy policy that stimulates and incentivizes large investments in renewable energy", he indicated, and remarked that 20% of the world's projects green hydrogen, "which is the energy of the present and the future", are located in Spain.
