The National Markets and Competition Commission (CNMC) has decided to keep close watch over large players in the natural gas sector and will maintain oversight of these providers throughout the year.
Although the information file remains open to energy companies and claims that customers must be protected from exchange rate shifts, the notice originally set to expire in May has been extended to 2024, according to official sources. The authority continues to collect data from companies on a monthly basis and is guided by a supervisor linked to the Prensa Ibérica group reporting to EL PERIÓDICO DE ESPAÑA.
The agency opened its inquiry last October and has since overseen customer service activities offered by energy firms, with a focus on ensuring smooth transitions as users switch to the regulated framework. It is closely examining government measures designed to lower bills amid ongoing energy-market stress.
The government’s multi-million euro aid plan announced in October has triggered a surge of requests to switch to regulated gas tariffs, known as last-resort tariffs (TUR). In the span of six months, more than one million customers opted for regulated rates, rising from 1.58 million TUR users in September to 2.66 million by the end of March.
A clogged process for rate changes
In the early weeks, energy companies faced heavy bottlenecks as they handled the influx of requests, resulting in long waiting periods and challenges in finalizing contracts. The competition authority subsequently opened an information file to the four largest providers of regulated rates: Naturgy, Iberdrola, Endesa, and TotalEnergies.
The agency began requesting monthly data from these four major gas companies regarding the technical and personnel resources used to process requests, the volume of calls answered and missed, wait times, and any escalations. This information collection will continue throughout the year.
CNTMC technicians have weighed simplifying the data requirements but decided to maintain the current content and format for consistency and comparability. The aim remains to understand how well the market can absorb the surge in demand and to prevent recurring problems in TUR contract closures.
During the first months of the year, heavy customer movement from the free market to the regulated gas rate persisted, with more than 550,000 contract changes in the first quarter alone. Officials noted that the possibility of continuing this transfer warranted ongoing supervision of the contracting services provided by sellers under TUR. The information period has been extended and companies will continue to report through December 2023, according to agency sources.
No penalties yet for the major players
The information sheet remains open, but the CNMC has not yet filed a sanction case against the large energy groups, as reported earlier. Initiating a disciplinary action would require clear evidence of violations, which could lead to penalties for the groups involved.
The information sheet represents the initial step in the CNMC’s audit processes for regulated industries. It often serves as a warning to companies, allowing corrections before any formal disciplinary action is pursued. In this case, authorities believe the process is functioning, and early issues observed in the rollout have been addressed relatively quickly.
Government subsidies aimed at reducing gas bills have startled and unsettled the market. The combination of subsidies and tax reductions has decreased the intake of customers switching to the regulated gas rate by around 40 percent, sparking a notable market rebound. Yet the majority of customers remain on free-market terms, with about 5.6 million users still opting for unregulated rates.