Spain’s cement producers to be included in power support plan

Spanish cement producers will be included in plans to support the power-intensive industry, which is facing rising electricity bills, according to the country’s Minister of Industry, Reyes Maroto. 

With this measure, the government plans to avoid new cases such as that of Cemex, which announced the closure of two of its seven cement works in the country. Cemex attributed the closure to the “increase in operating costs, mainly of fuels and electricity, the change in European CO₂ regulations and the loss of competitiveness in international markets.”

The minister explained that the government is already working on a draft of “a statute of the power-intensive consumer” in which it recognises the “peculiarities in accordance with Community relations.”

In addition, she said that the department is also working and looking for solutions to maintain industrial activities in the areas where Cemex closed plants (Gádor, Almeria, and Lloseta, Balearic Islands).