20% of service stations, calculated at a county and autonomous community scale according to the official census, will have to remain open as the minimum service to ensure the supply of fuel during the general strike day called for this Wednesday.
In accordance with the order of the Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, published this weekend in the Official State Gazette (BOE), it is established that this percentage is set based on objective criteria for geographic distribution, expected traffic density, and the type of vehicles that habitually travel, in order to balance the right to strike and essential supply.
At the same time, the regulations set operating guidelines for the entire logistics chain, such that transportation networks, underground storage facilities, regasification plants, international connections, and refineries of operators such as Repsol, Moeve, Petronor and BP are included.
With regard to the distribution of liquid fuels and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), the Government’s resolution requires urgent orders destined for essential services to be attended to on a priority basis, including hospitals, law enforcement agencies, firefighters, ambulances, and centers considered strategic.
Likewise, the essential fuel needed to comply with the minimum services established for air and maritime transport must be ensured.
At refineries and at regasification plants, the process units will be maintained at minimum operating loads and the standby equipment necessary to preserve the integrity of the facilities, prevent environmental risks, and ensure action in the event of possible emergencies or breakdowns.
MINIMUM SERVICES TO ENSURE ELECTRICITY SUPPLY
With regard to the electricity sector, through another order the Ministry determines the indispensable minimum services to ensure the supply of electricity, the safety of people, and the protection of infrastructures during the general strike, taking as a basis the reports from the system operator (Red Eléctrica) and the allegations submitted by companies and organizations within the energy sector.
With the purpose of maintaining the reliability of the state network, the order establishes the full operational availability of all nuclear power plants, conventional hydroelectric power plants, pumping groups, and coal and gas thermal power plants that were not already out of service due to scheduled outages.
At facilities located in non-peninsular territories, the availability of the entire generating fleet is also ordered. Units in operation must adapt their loads to the arrangements of the daily and intraday market, remaining subject to the technical variations that Red Eléctrica may require in real time in order to maintain system balance.
Likewise, the maximum availability and operability are required at all levels of the system operator’s control centers, as well as those of electricity generating, transmission and distribution companies, in such a way that uninterrupted communications and delegated dispatch systems are ensured in the event of any incident.
In addition, the order requires having duty rosters and urgent intervention brigades prepared to immediately handle local command, the rectification of faults, and the repair of breakdowns both in network infrastructure and in control centers.
Similarly, transmission facilities that are out of service due to maintenance work must be reconnected to the grid whenever their technical condition makes this possible.