The National Markets and Competition Commission (CNMC) has imposed fines on two companies for manipulating the energy market.
In short. On the one hand, Gesternova has received a sanction of six million euros for manipulating the electricity market through solar energy offers not available at night. On the other hand, the company NeuroEnergía y Gestión has been punished with 1,081 million euros for manipulating the energy market to then sell at higher prices to France.
The case of Gesternova. The resolution states that the company was selling solar energy at very low prices at night, at a time when it neither produces nor has an adequate storage system.
The events occurred between January 1 and March 17, 2022. In that month, the investigation began at the request of the Spanish Electrical Network, which analyzed 65 nighttime hours (6% of the total) where they found that the company contributed to setting the lowest price on the market. This price, known as the “marginal price”, is determined by combining all energy offers. At that time, the REE warned that Gesternova was responsible for more than 90% of the photovoltaic offers made during the night.
For this reason, the CNMC in the order has stipulated that the benefits obtained, 6,237 million euros, are higher than the maximum financial penalty, which is why it asks to identify and compensate the agents affected by the change in the cassation process due to the inclusion of its proposal for photovoltaic units at night.
The case of NeuroEnergía. This situation occurred between August 23, 2022 and March 15, 2023, the CNMC has detected that the company manipulated the electricity market using digital certificates from 34 commercial agents, such as FENIE, Holaluz, Cox or ELEIA. These agents, in exchange for a commission, would have paid Neuroenergía if their offers were accepted in the energy market before the electricity reaches the consumer.
The company’s strategy was to create and withdraw non-genuine orders to manipulate the position of its offers and manage to sell electricity to France at a higher price, taking advantage of the limit imposed by the “Iberian exception”.
And how are they declared? Innocents Both companies have defended that their actions are totally valid and normal. On the one hand, Gesternova has declared that the strategy was a legitimate management of their energy portfolio and they are not fraudsters, so they will appeal the ruling to the contentious-administrative court. On the other hand, Neuroenergy, along the same lines, has underlined that the company’s approach is an accepted market practice and constitutes a legitimate way of obtaining an optimal purchasing price for its customers.
The role of the CNMC. In these years the CNMC has guaranteed the functioning of the energy market efficiently, protecting consumers and agents. The objective of the commission is to identify and sanction fraudulent practices that threaten the sector. However, these actions show a lack of stricter regulation that could be prevented.
From the Government have proposed measures to counter situations such as telephone contracting without the express request of the consumer and the requirement of adequate capital together with guarantees to guarantee solvency, and avoid the forced transfer of clients to regulated companies.
The abusive practices of energy companies. The measures taken by the Spanish energy sector have affected to consumers for more than two decades. Starting from more than 500 marketers, only 382 are active, that is, they buy energy to supply it to their clients. The rest lack economic activity. In addition, we must add the manipulation of prices and the creation of fictitious offers, which affect not only the market but the pockets of users who end up paying higher rates.
It is imperative to strengthen supervision and sanction mechanisms to protect the final consumer in a sector that is difficult to understand.
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