By Prensa Latina,
Madrid : The Spanish government announced the imminent approval of an urgent plan to save energy, reduce oil consumption by 10 percent, in the time limit of two years.
Spanish Industry, Tourism and Trade Minister Miguel Sebastian reported Tuesday that the reduction equals 5 billion euros (6.283 billion dollars) a year.
The program scheme will affect the commercial, residential, transport and energy sectors, and will involve six ministries of the Cabinet led by Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero.
The idea is to eliminate the purchase of 44 million barrels of oil, of the 435 million barrels Spain annually imports, the Spanish minister said.
According to Sebastian, the project will already supplement plans in execution like that of saving and energy efficiency for the 2008-2012 period and that of urgent measures of the Spanish strategy for climatic changes and clean energy.
Two weeks ago a parliamentary commission requested the government the substitution of incandescent bulbs for the so-called thrifty bulbs with the purpose of reducing the energy expense and the carbon dioxide emission.
The proposal contemplates the substitution of all the bulbs of that type for low consumption units in three years.
There are 350 million incandescent bulbs in Spain now, for an average of 25 in every home.
Their replacement should represent an equivalent to 3 percent of the national electricity output in a year.