Fútbol y tarifas eléctricas

Si entiendo bien al Economist, el antiguo “pan y circo” pudiera traducirse hoy por “fútbol y tarifas eléctricas”.

[ .. ]

Con dos penosas advertencias: 1. Las tarifas eléctricas seguirán subiendo para las familias. 2. Los precios políticos de la electricidad tendrán que corregirse cuando las familias estarán más endeudadas.

Razones de fondo:

–Sucesivos gobiernos españoles llevan décadas decretando precios políticos.

–La dependencia energética agravará los problemas, cuando el costo de la producción de electricidad continúa creciendo, mucho más rápido, si cabe, que el consumo a bajo precio político.

[ .. ] NEXT month Spaniards’ electricity bills will go up—but not by nearly as much as they should. Electricity tariffs are regulated in Spain, and the government has kept prices artificially low. Prices have in fact fallen by 2% in nominal terms in the past ten years, and have dropped by 30% in real terms, even though the cost of generating electricity has shot up. Meanwhile, demand for electricity has soared.
Over the years, this has created a huge imbalance. Power companies have been forced to sell electricity at regulated prices that do not cover costs. The cumulative difference between what it costs them to produce power and what they are allowed to charge for it—the «tariff deficit»—has now ballooned to €14 billion ($22 billion), according to the Spanish National Energy Commission (CNE). [ .. ] [Economist, 26 junio 08. Electricity in Spain. Price shock].