The government has launched the process to restore the former National Energy Commission (CNE) and bring back a dedicated energy regulator after a decade. The new energy supervisor will be carved out from the National Markets and Competition Commission (CNMC), the overseer created in 2013 by the Madrid government and which absorbed sector regulators for energy, telecommunications, air and rail transport, broadcasting, postal services, and the National Competition Commission itself.
The reconstitution of the CNE will require adjustments and a reconfiguration of the CNMC, which will stop handling all oversight and inspection duties in the energy sector. Competencia will hand over to the new entity the resources and personnel previously tied to energy functions. This means the entire Energy Directorate staff of the CNMC, more than 120 professionals, and its main Madrid headquarters, as outlined in the bill draft released for public consultation by the Ministry for Ecological Transition.
The government will compel the CNMC to return the building that formerly served as the CNE’s headquarters and which today is the central seat of the current regulator, led by Cani Fernández. The location is the Alcalá street office at number 47, a short walk from Plaza de Cibeles. The property was acquired by the CNE in 2000 for over 3.4 billion pesetas (about 20.5 million euros). It spans roughly 10,200 square meters in a prime area of Madrid’s real estate market.
Disputes around where the headquarters will be located
The Council of Ministers approved starting the restatement of the CNE during a Tuesday meeting. Even before the official approval, a near-final draft of the bill outlining how the process will unfold surfaced. The draft stated that “the CNE will have its main headquarters in Madrid” and opened the door to other potential locations nationwide, describing the process for selecting additional sites.
In the final draft released by the Ministry, that explicit line about Madrid as the sole seat vanished. The document does not specify where the headquarters will be, nor does it even contemplate other possible installations. It appears the government aims to keep the CNE’s headquarters in Madrid, given that the Alcalá 47 building’s ownership transfer is addressed, but government officials have not commented publicly on the matter.
Three sites plus a fourth that was never used
The plan notes that the CNMC will transfer to the CNE the Energy Directorate, including its leadership and the staff and resources of other CNMC bodies that support energy duties. The transfer will also include real estate previously allocated to the CNMC from the former energy body.
Currently, the CNMC maintains two Madrid sites and one in Barcelona. Besides Alcalá 47, the central leadership offices, the regulator also occupies a neighboring building on Barquillo Street, number 5, formerly the Secretariat for the Competition Defense Court and later integrated into the CNMC. In Barcelona, the Bolivia Street site at number 56 served as the main office for what used to be the telecommunications market regulator before joining the CNMC.
The former National Energy Commission also bought a nearby building in 2008 on Barquillo Street, number 13, intending to expand its facilities. However, it never functioned as an energy regulator hub and was sold a few years later at a significant loss, after the CNMC began operating. This reflects how the landscape of the regulator’s real estate has evolved as the reorganization moves forward. [Attribution: official documents and historical records from the regulator’s archives.]