The Generalitat of Catalonia has opened a disciplinary file against the distributor EDistribución Redes Digitales, of the Endesa group, upon detecting “an alleged violation of the regulations on collective self-consumption”, which can lead to a sanction of between 600,000 and 6 million euros . The decision comes weeks after the records of the National Commission for Markets and Competition (CNMC) carried out in the offices of the distribution subsidiaries of several large electric companies, including Naturgy and Endesa itself, due to the obstacles to the self-consumption.
The disciplinary file of the Catalan government, initiated by the General Directorate of Energy, dependent on the Department of Climate Action, Food and Rural Agenda, as a result of an information file, “confirms that the company has incurred in practices that imply the unjustified imposition of conditions , difficulties or delays in the processing of access or supply contracts in self-consumption modalities”. The General Directorate of Energy has classified the action as a “serious infringement” and considers that it would have “harmed consumers” by “not adapting two out of three contracts that have requested to be formalized in the collective self-consumption modality”.
The report concludes that the distributor “has denied almost one in three requests for modification of the access contract in supplies with collective self-consumption”, in most cases “arguing incorrect reasons”. Likewise, “the company would not have processed another third of the facilities as it had not received any request from the marketing company to adapt the contract to the collective self-consumption modality.”
The information file proves that the Endesa company “did not activate 46% of the rejected requests for not having received any request for modification of the access contract from the marketing company”, although it indicates that once the general management has sent the distributor the documentation, this “is enough to modify the access contract”.
Another 30% of the refusals have taken place because “the request from the marketer did not include the distribution agreement, nor, in the case of installations of less than 100 kW, because they had not received any request from the marketer to adapt the contract for collective self-consumption”. The general management interprets that “from the moment the distributor communicates the Self-consumption Code (CAU), a requirement for the administrative authorization of the installation, it is understood that the applicant has provided a distribution agreement and a surplus compensation agreement correct”.
Likewise, the file proves that 12% of the refusals to activate self-consumption have occurred due to “not having passed the corresponding inspection”, although, adds the general management, “the regulations do not provide for an inspection prior to the connection of the installation to be carried out by the distribution company”.
The foregoing leads the Catalan administration to open the disciplinary file against the Endesa group company and require it to “apply the discounts provided for in the regulations in all those cases in which the modification of the access contracts and the compensation of surpluses have been activated beyond the period of two months from its communication”.
In 2022, the same General Directorate of Energy already sanctioned EDistribución Redes Digitales with 600,000 euros for failure to issue invoices.
For their part, Endesa sources have assured EFE that the company will analyze the file with “caution and respect” when it reaches them and that it will continue to provide all the information requested. In addition, the company has ensured that its commitment to promote self-consumption as a key element for the energy transition is “clear”.
According to Endesa, in the case of self-consumption, both individual and collective, the distributors have had to face “a complex regulation and a sharp increase in requests for installations”, for which the company has reinforced the service channels for meet this growing demand.
At the end of June, the company has 1,245 active collective self-consumption units already connected to the Endesa distribution network in Catalonia, which represents 60% of what is connected in the entire Endesa network in Spain.
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