The Government has intensified surveillance of the fuel market in the face of the recent rise in energy prices. This was stated by the Minister of Economy, Commerce and Business, Carlos Body, who explained this Sunday that the Executive “looks one by one” at the criteria for setting prices at gas stations to detect possible “anomalous behavior” derived from instability in the Middle East. Despite this control, the Corps has, for the moment, ruled out signs of irregular practices by the operators.
In this surveillance, the Ministry of Economy, the Ecological Transition and the National Commission of Markets and Competition (CNMC) work hand in hand, sharing information between them, with the latter being in charge of sanctioning and opening files if possible abuses are detected. In an interview granted to The Newspaper and collected by Europa PressCorps has clarified that the objective is not only to monitor the increases, but to ensure that When costs go down or stabilize, the reduction comes quickly to the final consumer.
Impact on inflation and aid plan
The energy rebound will have an immediate reflection in the statistics. According to the minister, inflation in March will be affected “significantly”, in part by the so-called ‘base effect’, since current prices are compared to those in March 2025, a period in which energy was unusually cheap and that will now highlight any increase in the statistics. Body recognizes the concern to ensure that this rebound does not deviate long-term price forecasts from the 2% objective set by the European Central Bank (ECB).
To soften this blow, the Executive is finalizing a package of measures that, according to the minister, will include tax incentives and income protection for the most exposed groups, such as distribution transport, fishing and the agri-food sector. However, Minister Corps has not set a date for these measures and has asked for calm, remembering that the current situation is not as critical as the one caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Specifically, gas determines the price of electricity today in 19% of the hours, compared to 75% in 2019.
The Government’s plan also includes shielding the so-called “social shield”, rescuing protection formulas for vulnerable households such as the prohibition of cutting off basic supplies to families that cannot pay for them. The minister has indicated that the long-term solution is to invest more in electrification and renewable energies. This seeks to make Spain less dependent on external factors, such as international conflicts or crises, that may affect the price of energy.