Spanish rail freight association demands state support for energy prices
The Association of Owners and Operators of Wagons of Spain (Faprove) asked for Spanish rail freight companies to be included as beneficiaries of the financing from the cap on energy prices. The association did so by sending a letter to the Spanish Ministries of Transport and for the Ecological Transition.
Faprove justifies the demands with the EU policy that allows Member States to use excess revenue resulting from the application of the limitation of market revenue. This excess could in fact be used to finance support measures for final electricity customers.
In the EU Official Journal, it was specified that final customers can be both private households as well as companies that strongly rely on energy consumption. However, it is up to each Member State to decide who can fit under the definition of final customers, hence the request to the Spanish Ministries.
Spain joins national and international associations in this quest
The list of EU countries asking for state help in the context of increasing energy prices is getting longer and longer. Spain is in fact joining France and Switzerland in this request. For France, the demands were brought forward by Alliance 4F last week. The Swiss Federal Office of Transport, on the other hand, has been asking for government support since August.
Moreover, international associations including UIRR, ERFA, and UIP are making themselves heard in the international community. For example, they have recently urged the EU to activate “an emergency intervention to address high energy prices that will be applied to traction electricity used by freight trains”.
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