The Prosecutor's Office asks to open an oral trial against Iberdrola and four directors for an "artifice" to raise prices

Claims sentences of up to two years in prison and compensation for the damage caused: More than 107 million euros

MADRID, 27 Jun. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office has requested to open an oral trial against Iberdrola Generación and four directors whom it points out as being responsible for a crime related to the market and against consumers for carrying out an "artifice" in 2013 that served to increase the price of energy causing a loss of more than 107 million euros. For this reason, he asks for up to two years in prison for the four directors and a fine of more than 84 million euros for the company.

In an accusation brief sent to the National High Court, the prosecutor Antonio Romeral is directed against the subsidiary and against Á. C., Director of Energy Management; G. R., responsible for Optimization, Resource Management and Trading; J. L. R., in charge of Asset Management; and J. P., in charge of Short Term Markets and Global Generation.

As it explains, Iberdrola Generación, "with the aim of causing an increase in the price of electricity and harming consumers, devised and put into operation a system to increase the price of the energy it sold, beyond what should have resulted from the free concurrence of supply and demand".

To achieve this higher price in the electricity market, Romeral recounts, "from November 30, 2013 and until December 23, 2013, the price of electricity offers corresponding to its hydroelectric plants of Duero, Sil and Tajo, at a level above the daily market price that prevented operations from being matched".

And this, emphasizes the prosecutor, "despite the increase experienced in those days by the prices of electricity in the cash market, which placed it at an optimal opportunity cost."

Romeral states that "the consequence of the artifice devised and carried out by the defendants was the increase in the price of electricity by at least 7,156 euros/MWh", which meant a profit of 21,222,818 euros for Iberdrola Generación for the 2,965,779 megawatts that it dispatched in that period.

According to his calculations, it would also have resulted in economic damage of 107,340,000 euros, of which 10.5 million would correspond to the twenty distribution companies that appear as injured in the case, while the rest of the damage would have been borne by consumers with variable-price contracts and insurance companies that covered fixed-price contracts.

Thus, it asks that the defendants compensate up to a maximum of 107,340,000 euros, jointly and severally, to the marketers "and to the rest of natural and legal persons who prove, as final consumers of electricity or guarantors of energy prices, having suffered or been affected by the increase in energy prices in the period from November 30 to December 23, 2013, both inclusive".

In addition, it is interesting that Iberdrola Generación be imposed as a penalty the payment of a fine of 84,891,272 euros and the confiscation of the profits obtained; and that the four directors be sentenced to two years in prison, with a special disqualification from carrying out work related to the generation or commercialization of electricity, and to fines of 12 months with a daily fee of 400 euros.

Romeral maintains that, although Iberdrola Generación would have concocted this maneuver, those in charge of materializing it would have been the four accused directors by formulating offers for electricity from the Duero, Sil and Tajo hydroelectric plants, a situation that -- underlines-- determined that these plants stop producing energy.

Anticorruption specifies that, "in the period between November 2 and November 29, 2013, the dispatched offer did not exceed 70 euros/MWh, concentrating 91.48% of it --866.4 GW-- in a price band of less than 50 euros/MWh", while "regarding the energy not dispatched, 48.13% of the energy offered --1,217.3 GW-- was in a band of prices higher than 80 euros/MWh".

Instead, it continues, in the investigated period, from November 30 to December 23, 2013, "32.54% of the energy dispatched --183.7 GW-- was in a price band above 80 euro/MWh". And, "of the energy offered not dispatched, 2,655.9 GW, 94.33% -2,505.3 GW- was in price bands above 80 euros/MWh", he completes.

In this context, Romeral recalls that "as of December 24, 2013, the change in weather conditions due to strong storms and wind caused a reduction in the price of energy due to the significant contribution of renewable sources."