The National Commission on Markets and Competition (CNMC) is investigating Endesa and its distribution subsidiary E-Distribución, along with Endesa Operaciones y Servicios Comerciales and their parent companies Endesa and Endesa Energía, over a possible abuse of a dominant position in the electricity distribution market. This market is responsible for delivering electricity from substations to homes and businesses.
The inquiry centers on alleged discriminatory and preferential treatment in the handling of requests, complaints, and incidents from Endesa’s own subsidiaries, potentially to the detriment of third-party competitors, according to the CNMC director. The review covers procedures related to electricity marketing, equipment installation, and the provision of metering services, as well as energy services and the installation and operation of self-consumption linked to the distributed generation market.
The distribution arm of electric utilities manages low-voltage networks under a monopoly regime, meaning consumers do not choose their distributor, unlike how they can select among energy marketers. Endesa is the leading distributor in Andalusia, Aragon, part of Castile and León, Catalonia, Galicia, the Balearic Islands, the Canary Islands, the autonomous city of Ceuta, and the province of Badajoz.
In these areas, a customer may have electricity supply with Iberdrola, Naturgy, or another company, but the distributor responsible for delivering power to the home or business is Endesa. The CNMC notes that these practices affect all territories where Endesa operates as a distributor.
Endesa defends itself by saying it has acted at all times in compliance with the law and with strict neutrality that governs how electricity distributors interact with different market operators. This neutrality ensures there is no preferential treatment for any actor.
The opening of this inquiry is not a surprise. It follows last summer’s inspections by CNMC officials at the headquarters of Endesa and Naturgy and some of their distribution subsidiaries amid suspected irregularities. In early June this year, the supervisor announced the opening of an inquiry into Naturgy for the same reasons now faced by Endesa.
As the CNMC recalls, the initiation of this procedure does not prejudge the final outcome of the investigation. A maximum period of 24 months is established for the inquiry and resolution process.
Autoconsumo
One of the central targets of the inquiry concerns complaints about abuses of the dominant position by large distributors, which have reportedly created obstacles to connecting self-consumption installations, especially in collective projects. In this regard, the energy company asserts its commitment to acting as a facilitator of self-consumption, evidenced by measures implemented by its distribution arm to speed up and simplify the activation procedures for self-consumption and to improve information for all involved participants. By the end of June, E-Distribución had activated more than 295,000 self-consumption supplies, a rise of 156 percent compared with the end of 2022.