The president of Enagás, Antoni Llarden, considers that the Spanish energy model “has given the country security of supply to Spain that others have not had.” He explained it this Friday in the presentation of ‘assets’ at the Hostal La Gavina de S’Agaró in Girona. “Spain has exported electricity and gas and at the appropriate times they have guaranteed security of supply to countries such as France, Portugal or Italy.”
In a debate-like conversation with the director of Economic Information of Prensa Ibérica, Marti Saballs, Llarden has reviewed the energy situation since Russia invaded Ukraine. “It was very serious, due to the extraordinary dependence that Europe had on Russian gas,” she recalled. In this sense, she highlighted that the Union has opted to implement a common energy policy. Because before the war, “all countries had an energy matrix with little in common.” Thus, “in a crisis situation, the European energy sector did not exist”, he stated.
“At the moment the situation is more controlled. We have tanks full of gas in almost all of Europe”
Russian gas was 45% of the total consumed in Europe, and in some countries it exceeded 80%, and even reached 100%. “This caused prices to explode,” she said. If before the war in the United States prices were 15 euros per megawatt/hour, in Europe at 25 and in the Middle East at 35, after the invasion the United States had them at 30, Europe at 300 and the East at 150 “Some prices out of place.” But “at the moment the situation is more controlled. We have tanks full of gas in almost all of Europe,” he celebrated. When the war started they were at 29%, now at 94%. Spain already has them 100%.
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Llarden considers that when the war broke out “Spain was much more prepared than other countries.” And it currently has a “reasonably good” energy model, with “quite a lot” of renewable energy, practically burning no coal or oil, and with “a good gas network, but which acts as a last resort.” Thus, he has been “cautiously optimistic” regarding the evolution of energy costs in the medium term. Spain is currently at 38 euros per megawatt hour and has guaranteed supply “for a month or a month and a half.” If the war ended, “prices would drop immediately,” he confirmed.
Lastly, he spoke of the necessary decarbonization, for which “there is no single solution, but a sum of solutions.” And he has placed the debate on the use of nuclear electricity. “We have to see if it can be considered useful for manufacturing green hydrogen.” Because it is not renewable energy, “but it is probably decarbonized electricity.” And he has concluded that green hydrogen will help replace coal, oil and ultimately gas, “but without eliminating them 100%.