Climate change and the consequent reduction in water resources due to the increasingly frequent and intense droughts threatens to open a new war between the Government and electricity companies over the management of the country's large hydroelectric plants. The file opened by the Ministry of Ecological Transition and the indication to

Iberdrola

for the management of water in the

Ricobayo

reservoir

(Zamora)

may only be the beginning of a long battle after the Executive has confirmed its intention to limit the use of the water to generate electricity from these facilities.

A report prepared by the Ecological Transition warns that, paradoxically, hydroelectric energy - a technology without polluting emissions called to play a key role in the energy transition - may be one of the most affected by climate change. "Hydroelectric energy is the energy source that may be most affected by climate change due to the lower availability of water," says the document

'Impacts and risks derived from climate change in Spain'.

The text complements the notice released on Thursday by the Secretary of State for the Environment,

Hugo Morán,

in which he advanced a review of the regulation of the old hydraulic concessions to prevent episodes such as that of Ricobayo from occurring again. His plan is to reinforce the "environmental and ecological limit" to contain the use of water from these reservoirs in periods of drought. The introduction of a clause of this type represents a relevant change in the operation of facilities whose priority function is currently electricity generation.

The measure would also limit the power companies' margin to generate revenue from these facilities, anticipating a legal battle between the parties. In addition, it has a direct impact on the entire electrical system since it implies the braking of an energy source that in 2020 covered 13% of the national electricity demand and accounted for almost a third of the clean electricity generation. In other words, its leading role is essential for the country to achieve the objectives of

reducing pollutant emissions

committed to Brussels.

For these reasons, the Ecological Transition report considers the impact on hydropower a "key threat" linked to climate change, among which it cites others that affect ecosystems, tourism, livestock, agriculture and the health of people.

The document outlines which would be the river basin districts most affected by these water shortage scenarios: Guadalquivir, Guadalete, Sur and Segura.

"In the scenario with restrictions due to water stress as a result of climate change, they lack water for energy use, thus transferring that impact to the electrical system", the authors point out.

Charge of 'malpractice'

Ecological Transition expects to receive in the coming days the report from the

Duero Hydrographic Confederation

on the management of water in the Ricobayo reservoir, which is at 11% of its capacity after Iberdrola made all its water reserves available to the operator of the electric system. His movement has generated enormous discomfort in the area by forcing the suspension of recreational uses that were made of the waters in the middle of the summer season.

The confederation, an organism dependent on the Ministry headed by Teresa Ribera, already indicated on August 5 that it had not observed any irregularity in the management by the electricity company, noting that the supply of nearby towns was not in danger and pointing out that it is of a private facility whose primary purpose is electricity generation.

Despite this report, the 'green' vice president did not hesitate to accuse the electricity company headed by

Ignacio Galán

eight days later

for the "scandalous" management of the reservoir and demanded explanations.

Ribera requested the opening of a more complete information file on the management and warns that it could become a sanctioner if some type of irregularity is found.

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

Know more

  • Teresa Ribera

  • Spain

  • Zamora

  • Drought

EconomyThe Government investigates Iberdrola for the landing in Ricobayo and Valdecañas and sees "scandalous" that the company says that it meets the requirements

Politics Murcia and the Valencian Community reissue their pact for water with criticism of the cuts in the Tajo-Segura Transfer

Energy crisisEndesa rules out a drain in its only reservoir in Andalusia to take advantage of electricity prices

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