The mayor of Estepona, José María García Urbano, has criticized this Friday that the Consistory could face a rise in the electricity bill of 600,000 euros next year, which will affect public services and citizens and sCreate a “lace” for the municipalities.
Thus, the councilor has highlighted it based on a study carried out of the latest receipts received by the City Council, assessing that this increase “is another new outrage against the Spanish” and highlighting that the rise “it affects everyone, families, employers, the self-employed and administrations ”.
Specifically, it has detailed that in the case of Estepona “the electricity bill is more expensive by 600,000 euros a year“, Ensuring that for the public coffers supposes “an unexpected extra cost that to all, both citizens and administrations, has happened to us and, therefore, it forces us to make adjustments that inevitably reduce our funds to invest in the city and in services ”.
Likewise, it has indicated that “there is also a increased requests for help from neighbors they can’t cope with the payment of this electricity bill”.
In this sense, he has pointed out that “The unstoppable escalation of light is the last straw from the central government to the municipalities, that we still do not receive a single euro in direct aid ”from the National Executive a year and a half after the start of the health crisis due to Covid-19. All this, despite the fact that “we are the closest administration to meet the needs of citizens, the one that has had to make a significant effort in the services in this pandemic and the one that is putting all the efforts in contributing to the economic recovery ”.
García Urbano has indicated that “we are living how day by day the price of electricity rises and reaches new historical highs “, indicating that the past Thursday “we live a historical milestone of the rise in electricity of 280% compared to a year ago, being unaffordable figures that weigh down economic growth and imply the loss of competitiveness and employment ”.
Asked how the problem can be tackled, he stressed that “The Popular Party has been proposing measures to stop this escalation“, Recalling that” the last of them has been a new Proposal of Law with proposals that would suppose a 20% reduction in electricity bills and savings for consumers of 9,000 million year”.
This would imply, according to the mayor, the “modification ”of the 2012 law on fiscal measures for energy sustainability, 2013 for the Electricity Sector and 1992 for Value Added Tax.