At its meeting on 4 May 2017, the Italian Competition Authority closed the two preliminary investigations initiated at the end of September 2016 against Enel and Sorgenia for possible unlawful conduct for excessively high prices in the offer to Terna for dispatching services required to ensure the safe operation of the electricity grid in the Brindisi area. The proceedings had been initiated upon a report from the Italian Regulatory Authority for Electricity, Gas and Water, according to which Enel and Sorgenia, taking advantage of the existing restrictions on the power transmission grid in the Brindisi area, allegedly exploited the possible compulsory trading counterparty position of the Terna network manager to impose excessive prices on the company, which were immediately passed on to the utility bills through an increase in the so-called uplift, namely the item that serves to cover the costs incurred by Terna itself.

The preliminary investigation initiated against Enel was closed with the acceptance of commitments that allow for a significant reduction of the costs incurred by Terna in the purchase of dispatching services for the time required to develop the infrastructure of the local network. For the years 2017, 2018 and 2019, Enel has self-imposed a maximum limit on the profitability of its Brindisi Sud power plant, which will guarantee a reduction in the bills for households and businesses of 507 million Euros for these three years, as compared to the remuneration costs of the plant envisaged under the traditional regulatory criteria.

In addition, and more generally, through further commitments regarding its conducts as to offers on the wholesale market, Enel has considerably limited the possibility that Terna should be required to purchase dispatching services, possibly at high prices, even from other operators in the Brindisi area, such as Sorgenia, whose investigation was closed at the same time, having established that there were insufficient legal grounds to proceed against them.

Rome, 5 May 2017