The CEO of Endesa, José Bogas, sends a message to the Government and the regulator with a serene and calm tone. The manager asks for speed from both the Executive and the National Markets and Competition Commission (CNMC) to clarify the regulatory and fiscal framework so that companies in the energy sector can continue making investments in Spain.
“In Spain, the National Integrated Energy and Climate Plan (PNIEC) is very ambitious. I think it is a good plan, but very ambitious. In my opinion, what it lacks is the regulatory support necessary to achieve the objectives that are there raised. I know that the Government and the regulator are aware and, therefore, an improvement in regulation and taxation is needed to allow the objectives of the plan to be adopted,” Bogas said at the press conference to present the results. corresponding to 2023.
In this sense, the manager has stressed that for the company to continue investing in the country profitably, “improvements” are needed in regulatory and fiscal conditions. “I am absolutely sure that these conditions will be met. The problem I see is that everything takes time to be proposed and implemented and that time, which is precious time, would delay investments. The problem is that a “The delay could put us at serious risk of meeting the PNIEC objectives. What we are trying to do is reach the regulator and the Government that speed is needed in the solutions that are going to be adopted,” he argued.
The parent company of the Spanish electricity company, Enel, will invest 8,950 million euros between Spain and Portugal in the period 2024-2026, and the majority will remain in the national territory. Bogas has also indicated that it is a “good sign” for the sector that within the Government’s decision to extend the energy tax, as agreed with Sumar in their coalition agreement, mitigation has been proposed through the General Budgets of the State (PGE) with incentives for investment in decarbonization projects. “All the signs are going in the right direction and I think it is urgent to make decisions,” he noted.
Bogas has considered that the extraordinary tax “does not make sense” and that “it is not comparable with any European one.” “It has been an extraordinary contribution for supposedly excess benefits that was not the case in the electricity sector for many reasons, but politically it was decided to extend and it is the Government itself that realizes that the payment of 1.2% detracts from resources for Invest and the profitability of investments decreases, this is going wrong with necessary impulse and investment effort to fulfill the Pniec. It is good news that mitigates the effect of containment of investments in decarbonization, denotes the spirit and that with awareness of the effort that must be made,” he noted.
The CEO of Endesa has also emphasized the need to give greater clarity to distributors with the modification of the next regulatory period, which will cover from 2026 to 2031. The entire sector expects an increase in the financial rate but it will not be until the end of the year when the CNMC published the proposed circular. In his opinion, so much “uncertainty” can lead to the collapse of distribution with times that companies “cannot afford.” In the same sense, he has asked to eliminate the limit on investment in networks linked to GDP. “We are investing between 2,000 and 2,500 million euros and about 5,200 million are needed according to the PNIC. Knowing the remuneration within two years (2024 investments will be paid in 2026) is unaffordable,” he defended.
