In the heart of Galicia, more specifically in the interior of the province of Lugo, We found Muras, a town where the wind has blown away the electricity bills.
For just over a year, the City Council of Muras, a municipality in which 668 residents with 381 wind turbines, has financed the electricity bills of the inhabitants with the fees charged to the various companies that operate the multiple parks in their territory. Companies such as Acciona, Iberdrola or Norvento
"It is a question of social justice", defends the mayor, Manuel Requeijo, of the Bloque Nacionalista Galego (BNG). "So far the benefits of producing this energy they did not affect the neighbors at all despite the fact that they are the ones who suffer the noise and the visual impact of the mills; they only went to the electricity companies, which do not even have a fiscal headquarters in Galicia ”.
Since 2016, everyone registered in the town (Muras) can request help to pay your domestic light consumption, a category that in this rural municipality includes the electricity cost of livestock farms or bars, as long as they share a meter with the home.
In this way, the City Council finances between 100% and 70% of the bill. Maximum coverage, with a maximum of 500 euros per year, received by families with incomes of less than 9.500 euros per year.
According to the Mayor: the town is aging, where 60% of the people are over 65 years old, and they survive with minimal pensions, most of the 175 families that have applied for help enjoy free light or pay only 10% of the receipt. “Neighbors who said they didn't need the help have ended up asking for it because of how much the electricity bill has gone up in the last decade.
From the mid-nineties came the wind turbines in the mountains of Muras. The electricity companies saw a business opportunity in the strong winds that sweep this small municipality of agro-livestock subsistence.
Encouraged by the various Administrations, the residents sold the land where the wind turbines were installed to the companies at 0,20 euros per square meter. “They were told that these lands were worth nothing and they did not even talk about renting them to generate at least one income.”, Laments the current mayor.
The dwindling population of Muras saw the mills reproduce at high speed. 381 towers were erected, some just 400 meters from the houses, but the energy progress dodged the villages and it only reached the wind farms. Germán, the only remaining inhabitant in the Baxín place, began to enjoy electricity supply in his house only a few months ago. As the case of this octogenarian is not the only one, the City Council is also allocating part of what it collects in taxes among the electricity companies to bring the power lines to all the inhabited centers of the municipality, an objective that it hopes to complete this year, 20 years after the installation of the first wind turbine.
José María Chao, a rancher from the village of Xestosa, has lost sight of the meter. Until recently, he not only paid for the supply of the farm where he lives but, together with the 15 residents of the nucleus where he resides, he also had to pay for the consumption of the outdoor lampposts. Now you only pay 10% of your house bill and the public lighting installation in Xestosa is already underway. "It was a relief," he confesses. "We never imagined that we would receive any benefit from the wind turbines around us." "And it is for all residents without distinction," concludes José Manuel Felpeto, another beneficiary of the aid.
In the local coffers of Muras they are not going bad, they have a municipal budget for 2017 of 1,7 millones de euros, of which 1,5 million from the wind business. 900.000 euros are paid by the IBI and IAE that is charged to wind farms and 535.000 euros are obtained from the Environmental Compensation Fund that the Xunta nourishes with the canon that wind farms pay in Galicia. Of this money, 130.000 euros will be used this year to finance the electricity bill of the neighbors.
Money is not what makes Muras City Council sleepless, however, it is very concerned about stopping the rural exodus. The Xunta has already threatened to close the school because there are only ten children enrolled, although the local government has offered to keep it open with its own funds, the Autonomous Administration denies this possibility claiming that their powers would be invaded.
Municipal aid for the electricity bill has attracted families interested in settling in Muras, but the lack of jobs and adequate housing have prevented the move from materializing. "We have opened a small door, at least to discuss other ways of doing things”, Concludes the City Council.