Press release: Meeting between the representatives of the PX1NME and the European Comission concerning the CTCs in the Spanish power sector

Today, 13 September 2017, Piet Holtrop and Jorge Andrey of HOLTROP SLP Transaction and Business Law, appeared at the European Commission in Brussels on behalf of PX1NME. The purpose of the trip was to meet with the Commission’s General Directorate for Competition and discuss the evolution of the CTCs dossier; a dossier on the claim we presented in 2015 and that since then the General Directorate’s legal department has been analyzing.

It was a complex meeting dominated by highly technical content. We have found points of agreement with the General Directorate, above all with respect to the excessive complexity of the regulations relevant to the Spanish electrical sector and the lack of clarity in its costs structure. This latter point is what has resulted in the difficulties experienced in determining the appropriate remuneration for CTCs. The lack of clarity has also derived from the confusing process through which the CTC concept was created and modified.

We were able to reach a consensus with the Director General regarding the current points of difference that the Commission has with PX1NME, and we agreed that it will be necessary to provide further information: above all, with respect to the quantifying and ownership of CTCs, and consequentially the final magnitude of CTCs, which will ultimately determine the question of whether or not there has been an overpayment.

The Commission has invited us to provide further clarifications regarding these points and to continue in our work to untangle to electrical system in Spain. The Commission also emphasized the importance of organizations such as PX1NME regarding the provision of information to the Commission; if it weren’t for these entities, the Commission would not have a full picture of the situation given the high visibility of national administrations and established lobby groups.

We thanked the Commission for their invitation and work, and we have assured them that we will not cease until we have managed to clarify the opaque accounting used in the Spanish electrical system. At the same time, we emphasized the importance of undertaking a full audit of the electrical system, as was recommended previously by Commissioner Oettinger.