tolls Archives - usatoday24

the x-ray of taxes and tolls in Spain

May 12, 2026 by usatoday24

Although it sounds like science fiction that the Spanish electricity market has come to pay for consuming energy, marking a historical record of -10 euros per megawatt hour (MWh) On a Sunday at three in the afternoon, the reality that reaches the mailboxes is very different. Spain today boasts of having the cheapest wholesale electricity in Europe, surpassing powers such as Germany or France, but, paradoxically, households end up assuming a bill that is above the European Union average. The great paradox that frustrates citizens is evident: how is it possible to generate almost free electricity and end up paying for it at European luxury prices? The silent revolution. To understand the miracle of the wholesale market, you have to look at the data in depth. As analyst Jan Rosenow details in his recent reportSpain has not just added solar panels and windmills on a fossil fuel base, but has replaced them. The turning point was the year 2022, when the sum of wind and solar energy generated more electricity than all fossil sources combined. The secret of this price collapse lies in how the European electricity market works, where the latest technology that enters to cover demand (normally the most expensive) is the one that sets the price for all the others. During the last decade, that role was played by gas. However, renewables have pushed gas out of the equation: in 2022, gas marked the price 55% of the hours, while in the first four months of 2026, that figure has plummeted to a mere 9%. The result is devastating: at the start of 2026, the average wholesale price in Spain was just €44/MWh. In that same period, Italy paid €127, Germany €96 and the United Kingdom €103. The big question: Why don’t we notice it more? The short answer is that the price of energy is just one ingredient in the cake. According to Rosenow,the wholesale cost of energy represents only 41% of a typical Spanish domestic bill. The rest is a sum of network tolls (23%), VAT (17%), system charges (10%), electricity taxes and commercial margins. Cheaper wholesale energy is a necessary condition for lower bills, but it is not sufficient. Added to this tax cocktail is a consumer behavior problem. According to expert Joaquín Coronado In a recent publication in LinkedInnational demand is practically “inelastic.” Analyzing a time period where electricity cost a paltry €0.51/MWh, Coronado observed that there was no additional Spanish demand willing to take advantage of that bargain. Consumers are price-takers passives. And here comes the twist: since we do not consume that excess of cheap energy, French and Portuguese agents end up buying it to export it, which paradoxically drags our market upwards through European coupling. The unequal impact. This market dynamic does not affect everyone equally, leaving a transition to the next idea much clearer: there are obvious winners and households in tension. On the one hand, the great Spanish electro-intensive industry is experiencing a sweet moment. According to data from the AEGE associationby paying for electricity at €66.50/MWh compared to almost €68/MWh for the powerful German industry, they have achieved a surprise vital competitive. For families, the Government maintains an active “fiscal shield” (with VAT reduced to 10% and the electricity tax to 0.5%) that covers up the impact of tolls. But there are regulatory clouds. The European Commission has targeted the Spanish regulated tariff (the PVPC)to which almost 30% of households are covered. Brussels demands that it be progressively dismantled to push consumers into the free market, arguing that the intervened rates discourage savings and competition. The Spanish Government, for its part, resists eliminating it, defending that it is an indispensable security cushion and the main requirement to access the social bonus that protects the most vulnerable. The mirage of summer. Experts agree that we should not trust ourselves. The current spring bargain has an expiration date. When summer arrives, high temperatures will reduce the efficiency of solar panels, air conditioners will increase demand and, in all likelihood, expensive gas will have to be turned back on to avoid blackouts, driving prices up again. Furthermore, the green revolution has a “shadow bill.” Rosenow emphasizes that, Although energy is cheaper, keeping the system stable now costs more. Spain has to pay more for balancing services, voltage support and new transmission infrastructure to take solar and wind energy from where it is generated to where it is consumed. And those costs, inevitably, end up being passed on to the consumer through system charges. The solution to this bottleneck Joaquín Coronado himself points it out: The system cries out for new loads designed to arbitrage price. We are talking about batteries, industrial thermal storage and new hydraulic pumps. That is, each megawatt that we manage to store when electricity is at zero euros will be a renewable megawatt that we will not throw away, thus stabilizing the price for everyone. Incomplete success. Spain has achieved an indisputable structural feat. We have become a European pioneer, largely decoupling our prices from international gas volatility and gaining invaluable energy independence now measured in euros per megawatt hour. However, it must be taken into account that the energy transition does not end with solar panels. As long as the structure of tolls, networks and taxes continues to weigh almost 60% on families’ final bills, the European dream of zero-cost electricity will continue to be, for the average consumer, a spectacular figure that only exists on the screens of the financial markets. We generate almost free, but the labyrinth to the plug still costs us at European prices. Image | Unsplash Xataka | While Europe panics about the price of electricity, in Spain the opposite is happening

that they do not pay tolls. And (almost) all countries don’t care

October 22, 2025 by usatoday24

The European Union is determined that transport drastically reduces its emissions. In Xataka We have discussed at length the plan to jump to the electric car, with new emissions limits from 2030 that will force the pure gasoline car to be almost testimonial and the intention to ban combustion engines by 2035. And, hand in hand, we also want to drastically reduce emissions from heavy road transport. Here, the electric truck should be key. To promote it, the European Union wants them not to pay tolls. No tolls. It’s what has approved the European Union. Right now, countries that want to apply it can free electric trucks from tolls on their roads. Applying this possibility, which is decided by each Member State, expired on December 31, 2025 but has been extended until December 31, 2030. The European Commission’s proposal arrived in summer and a few days ago, with 458 votes in favor, 182 against and 11 abstentions, the European Parliament confirmed its expansion. Electric trucks will not have to pay tolls on European roads… if a Member State decides so. almost no one. The problem is that almost no one fully applies this rule. Right now, only Germany and Austria offer their roads completely free of charge to purely electric trucks. These vehicles do not have to pay to use their toll roads. In addition to Germany and Austria, 10 countries offer discounts for electric trucks when using their highways. And another 15 countries do not apply any type of discount. Among them, indeed, is Spain, which charges the same for a polluting truck as for a zero-emission truck. The plans. Although the countries that apply these exemptions completely are testimonial and more than half do not apply any type of discount, European enlargement reopens this possibility so that more States join in to favor the arrival of electric trucks on their roads. Europe’s ultimate intention is to drastically reduce its emissions from heavy transport. The objectives vary depending on the size of the vehicle but, for trucks, the intention is to reduce emissions by 45% by 2035 and that in 2040 the presence of combustion engines in the trucks sold will be almost negligible, with a 90% reduction in emissions. The comparison is made with data from 1990. These plans also include passenger transport buses, which will also not have to pay tolls as long as each State allows it. Viable? Given this measure, manufacturer associations such as ACEA have shown their enthusiasm for the decision but… to what extent is it viable to electrify heavy transport? Its impact is important (barely 2% of the vehicles that move but produce more than 25% of road transport emissions) so jumping to electric trucks is a priority for Europe. The problem is that the electric truck continues to require a really expensive purchase although, over time, the savings promises are consistent. According to the consulting firm Commercial Vehicle World, the savings when operating with this type of vehicle is between 10 and 20% compared to a diesel truck. One of the problems, of course, continues to be autonomy. For now, the most ambitious electric trucks They move in runs of between 500 and 600 kilometers but the key is in the recharging times, which with a 150 kW pole can take up to two hours to fill their batteries. Beyond the tolls. In. its objective to promote the jump to the electric truck, the European Union is forcing countries to Fill your roads with charging points. Of these, large charging islands are planned that should serve these enormous vehicles. The intention is to have very powerful plugs but, until now, they have focused on plugs of, at most, 350 kW, which is clearly insufficient. It must be taken into account that BYD has already given approval for the installation in Europe of its 1MW chargerswhich is clearly focused on this type of transportation. But electric trucks are also beginning to gain ground. While in Europe they are negligible, with less than 1% of sales, in China they already exceed 20%. Many of them have gained traction due to the possibility of changing batteries at appropriate stations, which guarantees that, in just a few minutes, the vehicle can continue its journey. Photo | In Xataka | BYD has shown us that charging 400 kilometers in five minutes is very real. And they have managed to change my mind

The last idea to include tolls on the highways of Spain

July 3, 2025 by usatoday24

From Madrid to Barcelona for about 18 euros. From Bilbao to Cádiz for more than 30 euros. That is The proposal of the Association of Construction and Infrastructure Concessionaires (Seopan) and in that money there has been none of the tolls that we can find along the way and that, without a doubt, would make the journey more expensive. And it is that the employer of the road construction companies has had an idea to finance the thousands of kilometers of highways that are still free in our country. And, from their point of view, they have it very clear: that The drivers pay 3 cents/km route. The figure is much higher for heavy transport for which they propose a rate of 0.14 cents/km route. That is, multiply almost for five previous figures until we place us at almost 90 euros in Madrid-Barcelona and almost 150 euros for crossing Spain in truck. An old dream with Europe looking The proposal was presented by Julián Núñez, president of the association that covers giants such as ACS, Ferrovial, Action, Abertis, Ohla or Sacyr, among others. It indicates that the country has to invest 11,494 million euros for the conservation and maintenance of roads that have not been carried out in recent years. That game is part of the 38,447 million euros in 25 years that, according to their calculations, they are necessary to keep the roads in optimal conditions until 2050. In those items maintenance works are contemplated but also the construction of Roads 2+1 to “improve road safety” or the deployment of load infrastructure for the electric car. All this, they say, would generate income in 25 years of 143,024 million euros, a fiscal return of 35,314 million euros and a public spending saving of 41,038 million euros. Money that would be used to invest in the maintenance of the roads themselves. The implementation of payment for use is one of the great dreams of the construction companies since this would allow them to offer down construction and maintenance services, facilitating these actions and, of course, facilitating their business. However, they ensure that Spain accumulates 68% of free highways throughout Europe which total 13,674 kilometers free of tolls. A flag that the government has presumed, putting each liberalization in value while balancing with Europe. Last year, in fact, Transport Minister Oscar Puente assured that “the roads are not free, or are paid with taxes or tolls.” He did it in a forum organized by The Spanish And the words of Puente soon were read as a notice to navigators. However, just A few hours later he would defend that this was not a way to “reopen the debate” and stressed that the government had released 1,000 kilometers since 2018 on toll highways. To that measure, it has joined not imposing more tolls on roads such as AP-9, AP-66 and AP-68 where bonuses are applied. These decisions, however, collide frontally with the interest that Europe has reiterated in imposing tolls on Spanish roads. For years, institutions have put the table on the table obligation to impose a tarification For use to roads in exchange for continuing to water our country of European funds. This led the government to include it in its Recovery and Resilience Planalready presented in 2021. Since then, The equilibrium game That the Spanish Executive has maintained has made the roads remain free but a new threat has also arrived from Europe: a possible complaint if we do not correct the way. And, although the supposed payment for use comes from afar, the runrún on the payment on the roads has been increasing. Especially if we consider that in 2021 there was already talk of imposing A toll system in less than three years or that Pere Navarro, director of the DGT, has already suggested Who could and who not pay those possible tolls. What they defend from Seopan in their proposal is that, however, Spain would continue to pay cheaper tolls than the rest of Europe since, they say, the average is 0.09 euros/km route for cars and 0.018 euros/kN route for heavy transport. In The countryThey emphasize that Spain represents 21% of all kilometers of high capacity of the European Union but that, however, only 13% are payment. That is, we are an exception that Seopan seeks to reverse with a porch system To pay for use, taking advantage of the fact that the money that the State must due to the investment of the roads already exceeds 10,000 million euros. But also Europe, what For years he presses so that Spain once and for all a melon from which, in the government, He doesn’t want to take care. Remember that it is something that You have been talking since 2012. Photo | Erwin Brevis In Xataka | Hunting for “Simpa” in the tolls of Europe: the new EU system to collect fines abroad

Without tolls, the AP-7 has become hell. The solution passes through speed limits of 60 km/h

March 26, 2025 by usatoday24

The AP-7 is known as the Mediterranean highway. It is an essential axis for Spanish traffic since it allows to circulate without interruptions between Tarragona and Alicante. And if we add their links to other roads, it allows to circulate between France and Cádiz. A road, yes, that until 2021 was marked by various tolls. Some sections, in fact, They were one of the most expensive in Spain. The road, however, is fought from the Tolls in 2021. What it was A historical claim In the area it soon became a problem. In its first year, the road saw tourism traffic increasing 40% and 80% of trucks, collected in The country. The obvious result: more jams, more accidents … and more jams accordingly. Specifically, only the first year the AP-7 concentrated 20% of the dead on the road throughout Catalonia. A figure that contrasts with the trend of the rest of the country where the deceased on the road They concentrate on secondary roads. The New free routewith France at one end and Barcelona to one of its sides, it has turned the road into a parade of merchandise vehicles. And the problem is such that since then solutions are being sought. First with a partial reduction of speed limits. An action that has arrived in 2022 and added 82 kilometers. The next step is to copy Europe. A solution to the European Since then, the AP-7 situation has not improved much. Although mortal figures have been reduced over time, only in 2024 more than 1,600 incidents on the road. The response of traffic managers has been to reduce speed. How much? It will depend on the Meteorology and traffic congestion. Because the proposal goes through a changing management of the maximum speed of the road. A solution that already applies to other roads in Europe and that can reduce the maximum allowed limit to 60 km/h. The person in charge of announcing the measure was the Minister of Interior, Núria Parlon. They point out in The newspaper that this section of variable speed will extend for 150 kilometers between Maçanet de la Selva (Girona) and the Vendrell (Tarragona). For this, panels controlled by artificial intelligence will be implemented that will limit the traffic speed based on the different circumstances that are giving. The measure takes as reference what happens, for example, In German autobahn. On these roads there is no defined speed limit. In fact, if circumstances accompany, There is no speed limit. But at nightfall, when it rains or if there are works on the road, the panels show a speed limit equal to or less than 130 km/h. The operation is exactly the same as on the German roads but the director of the Catalan Traffic Service (SCT), Ramon Lamiel, already warns in an interview with EFE: The speed can be reduced up to 60 km/h at some points. At the moment, the project is in the development phase by the Servei Català de Trànsit (SCT)who has the competitions on Catalan roads. In the second quarter of the year it should be written to be able to get it as a tender. They explain in The countrythat the intention is to deploy a progressive reduction in the maximum speed before the driver is suddenly with a bottling that forces him to reduce the speed much more drastic. Speaking to the newspaper, Lamiel insists that speed will be reduced Only in the most congested sections since they believe that the increase in accidents is derived from a greater volume of traffic and not from the danger of the road. In addition, he points out that they already proposed this measure to extend it nationwide by the roads that are the competence of the DGT but that its proposal was dismissed. The truth is that The theory says that when we circulate more slowly, traffic jams are reduced. Atasco are a sum of errors. When we circulate at a lower speed, the time to alleviate errors is greater and these are reduced. It is a matter of effectiveness and not so much speed. Traffic circulates more slowly but flows. If we circulate too fast, the braking are more abrupt, it costs more to recover a sustained speed and, little by little, we end up stucking the road. Photo | ENRIC In Wikimedia In Xataka | Catalonia has its own DGT Pegasus: Falcó is the most powerful radar in Spain and the most complicated to detect

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