PRESS RELEASE

INCREASED BILL COSTS, ANTITRUST INVESTIGATION ON ENEL AND SORGENIA

The Antitrust Authority has ordered the start of two preliminary proceedings, one against Enel and another against Sorgenia. These operators allegedly violated competition law by applying unduly onerous prices in the sale to Terna of power facilities of its plants to a minimum technical in the area of Brindisi, which are essential to ensure the voltage of the local power grid. The start of proceedings was notified today during inspections carried out by the Authority in collaboration with the Special Antitrust Unit of the Guardia di Finanza.

The proceedings were initiated on the request of the Authority for electricity, gas and water, which claims that in the period between 27 March – 15 June 2016, Enel and Sorgenia changed their energy supply strategy produced by the plants located in the area of Brindisi. In particular, the terms and conditions of both the operators in the wholesale markets would have determined the zeroing trend of the production programmes of the respective installations in the area, which are then “turned off” at the conclusion of these markets.

In these circumstances, in order to ensure the safe operation of the local power grid, the operator of the national transmission grid – Terna – was obliged to request the companies commissioning some production units on the market for ancillary services. Both Enel Produzione and Sorgenia have, therefore, found themselves in the position of official supplier during certain hours of the period in question, a position on which they seem to have relied to impose excessive prices on Terna, which prima facie would appear disproportionate to the cost of the service offered.

As shown by the industry regulator, the higher cost paid by Terna for the supply of voltage regulation services in the area of Brindisi in the first six months of 2016 was higher by around 320 million euro compared to the expenditure of the same period in the previous year. This cost (cd. uplift) is a component of the electricity bill, which is charged to all the users, both consumers and businesses.

Rome, 6 October 2016