Government to hammer out further energy-saving measures

The Cabinet's decision to reduce speed limits on Spain's highways and cut the price of train tickets - in part because of soaring oil prices in the wake of the Libyan revolution - is just one of a battery of measures that Deputy Prime Minister Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba and Industry Minister Miguel Sebastián will hammer out with regional and municipal authorities in the coming days. The aim of the meetings will be to discuss ways in which the ingrained consumption habits of Spanish citizens can be altered.

Rubalcaba has stated that Spain is not in danger of being blacked out by the withdrawal from Libya of several oil companies - "we have sufficient reserves and there are no problems with supply" - but the situation has cast unfavorable light on the country's dependency on oil: more than 80 percent of Spain's energy requirements are imported. In 2010, Spain bought over 25 billion barrels of oil.

The president of the Spanish Federation of Municipalities and Provinces (FEMP), Pedro Castro, in an interview with Cadena Ser radio, laid out the three main prongs of his proposal to the government: a sensor system in public buildings to activate lights only when a room is occupied; restrictions on the use of private vehicles in city centers; and the relocation of administrative buildings to the outskirts of Spain's major cities.

Castro, who is also the mayor of Getafe, says it is a question "not only of saving energy, but also of health. People can't drive their cars into large cities every day; it's madness. These are unpopular measures but occasionally they need to be pushed through."

Cayo Lara, the leader of the United Left, does not agree: "[The government] is improvising and this measure is a further absurdity which will not reduce consumption but will be a coercive measure so people pay more fines."

The temporary reduction in the maximum speed limit - 110kmph from 120kmph - is due to come into effect on March 7 and will save 1.4 billion euros in oil imports at current prices, but will also signify a reduction in hydrocarbon tax revenues. The loss to state coffers is estimated at 530 million euros, without taking VAT decreases into account.

In response to criticism from the Popular Party, Rubalcaba said that "there are people who don't like it and people who don't care, but the important thing is that they understand what it's for: to save energy. [PP leader] Mariano Rajoy has applied the best policy to save energy: doing nothing."