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ENERGY

Algeria threatens to cut gas contract with Spain

Gas giant Algeria threatened Wednesday to break a contract to supply gas to Spain if Madrid transferred it onwards to "a third destination", amid tensions with regional rival Morocco.

Published: 28 April 2022 09:24 CEST
Algeria threatens to cut gas contract with Spain
Spain, which is dependent on Algeria for gas supplies, broke in March with its decades-long stance of neutrality and recognised Morocco's autonomy plan for Western Sahara. (Photo by FETHI BELAID / AFP)

Algeria’s state-owned energy giant Sonatrach supplied more than 40 percent of Madrid’s natural gas imports in 2021, most of which was supplied directly through the 750-kilometre (465-mile) Medgaz deepwater pipeline.

Algeria, Africa’s largest gas exporter, previously also supplied gas through a second GME (Gaz Maghreb Europe) pipeline, which links Spain to Algeria via Morocco.

But Algiers in November shut supply through the GME due to a diplomatic rupture with Rabat, depriving Morocco of Algerian gas.

On Wednesday, Algeria’s Energy and Mines Minister Mohamed Arkab said his Spanish counterpart informed him that Madrid was to “authorise the operation, in reverse flow” of the GME pipeline, and that this would start “today or tomorrow”, an energy ministry statement said.

It did not mention the country the gas would be sent to.

However, in February, Spain said it would help Rabat to “guarantee its energy security” by allowing it to transport gas through the GME.

Algiers warned that any routing of “Algerian natural gas delivered to Spain, whose destination is none other than that provided for in the contracts, will be considered as a breach of contractual commitments.”

Doing so “could result in the termination of the contract between Sonatrach and its Spanish customers”.

Algeria and Morocco have seen months of tensions, partly over Morocco’s normalisation of ties with Israel in exchange for Washington recognising Rabat’s sovereignty over the disputed region of the Western Sahara.

Spain, which is dependent on Algeria for gas supplies, broke in March with its decades-long stance of neutrality and recognised Morocco’s autonomy plan for the territory, a former Spanish colony.

READ ALSO: Why Spain’s Western Sahara U-turn is a risky move with no guarantees

Algeria’s warning comes as Europe seeks to wean itself off Russian energy following its invasion of Ukraine.

Russia’s state energy giant Gazprom on Wednesday stopped all gas supplies to Poland and highly dependent Bulgaria, raising the spectre of a shortage in the region — and Europe as a whole.

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LIFE IN SPAIN

Spain to roll out another law banning cold calls by energy companies

Cold calls by gas and electricity suppliers offering you a supposedly better deal will soon be a thing of the past in Spain, according to legislation being drafted by the government, although another 2023 law which bans spam calls has so far failed.

Published: 20 August 2024 14:02 CEST
Spain to roll out another law banning cold calls by energy companies

Spain’s Ministry for Ecological Transition is reportedly working on legislation that could put an end to bothersome sales calls by electricity and gas suppliers. 

More specifically, the new regulations would not only ban over-the-phone advertising, it would make it illegal for such companies to get customers to sign up for new contracts over the phone, unless the customers themselves call to request it. 

The changes suggested by the Ministry reflect the proposal made by Spain’s National Commission for Markets and Competition in its latest report on the electricity retail market.

The document highlighted the “numerous complaints from consumers who receive misleading telephone calls from different marketers, without the customer having given their consent to receive these calls, and which can lead to supply contracts with deficiencies or without informed consent from the consumer”.

More than a year has passed since the Spanish government brought in legislation to try and stop spam calls, but for practically everyone in Spain these infuriating marketing and advertising cold calls continue.

According to a survey by consumer rights group Facua published at the beginning of July 2024, 98 percent of people in Spain continue to receive unsolicited sales calls. 

Almost seven out of ten had received more than five calls in the last month. 

In some cases, consumers receive numerous cold calls everyday, which discourages them from answering any number that they don’t recognise, even if it isn’t a spam call. 

Experts say companies, some legitimate and others fraudulent, have found ways to circumvent the legislation and exploit data protection rules. There is no evidence that the fines of up to €100,000 that were meant to dissuade offenders have actually been handed out.

READ MORE: Why Spain’s law to ban spam calls has failed

Other legislation introduced in 2022 also prohibited cold calling before 9am and after 9m, as well as at weekends or on public holidays.

Given the Spanish government’s poor track record in actually getting spam call legislation to stop, it remains to be seen whether electricity and gas companies will actually cease calling. 

According to a 2023 report by Hiya, a Seattle-based company that provides spam and fraud call protection globally, Spain and France are the two countries in Europe where people receive the most spam calls.

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