Article published by Diari Ara, 9th April 2016
Spain’s Constitutional Court has ruled that Catalonia’s government has no say on the matter and has invalidated part of a Catalan law which aimed to ensure that no Catalan families got their utilities cut off for non-payment
The Spanish Constitutional Court has struck down part of Catalonia’s legislation on energy poverty, a bill meant to guarantee that struggling families would not see their gas and electricity cut off for non-payment. In October 2014 the Constitutional Court (CC) had suspended the law, following a formal complaint by the Spanish government. Now it has ruled that the Catalan government has no authority to decide whether a utility may or may not be cut off and, therefore, has found the Catalan law “unconstitutional”.
The ruling claims that the Catalan legislation infringes on the powers of the central government, which passed a law establishing that “vulnerable consumers will be protected by means of subsidies on their electricity and gas bills, rather than by banning power cutoffs”.
The CC’s arguments
In a plenary session, the CC has partly allowed the appeal by the Spanish government against the Catalan 2/2013 Act (dated December 23rd) on energy poverty, which amended Catalonia’s Consumers’ Bill passed in 2010. Specifically, the Court has ruled that paragraph 2, section 6 and section 7 of Catalonia’s Consumers’ Bill —which was amended by a decree— are “unconstitutional and void”. Article 7 established that families who can attest that they are struggling financially “shall remain protected from any utility cut-off between November and March, inclusive” and adds that payment of any accrued debts must be “postponed” and families have “the right to pay off any outstanding debts in full or installments between the following April and October”.
Read the full article here.
Americans For Catalonia 