CNMC prepares first sanctions for the blackout on April 28, with Red Eléctrica as a special case

Ticking for blackout fines. The technicians of the National Markets and Competition Commission (CNMC) are finalizing the first sanctions for the electrical zero that turned the Iberian Peninsula black on April 28, 2025. As EL MUNDO has learned, the idea is to close fifty files against Iberdrola, Endesa or Naturgy between now and March; leaving for last the open process against Red Eléctrica, the system operator, which has put the supervisor in an uncomfortable dilemma that could condition the fines of the rest of the companies.

The Electricity Sector Law penalizes "very serious" infractions with between 6 and 60 million euros, while for "serious" infractions the fines range from 600,001 euros to 6 million. To avoid disproportionate penalties, the rule says that the maximum penalty can in no case exceed 10% of the offender's turnover.

This, applied to the file against Red Eléctrica (the only one where the CNMC proposes the sanction, but it is the Government that decides), could make the company chaired by Beatriz Corredor the least punished of all, despite being the only one accused of a "very serious" offense for failing to fulfill its functions as an operator and with "detriment to the system or other subjects." That is, due to failures that put the supply at risk.

A flexible interpretation of the law could lead the CNMC to calculate the penalty on what the subsidiary Red Eléctrica de España earns, but only for its status as operator, and not on the entire activity of said company, which also includes income from the transmission network business. The difference is abysmal.

According to the 2025 accounts, the last available, Red Eléctrica de España invoiced almost 1,467 million, of which less than 90 million corresponded to the operation of the system: 75 million in the peninsula and close to 15 in the non-peninsular territory. With that reference, the fine could not exceed 9 million euros, far from the 60 million limit for a "very serious" offense. The figure, furthermore, barely exceeds the 6 million maximum penalty for a "serious" offense, a category in which the vast majority of the files of private electricity companies fall.

Only Iberdrola's Generation subsidiary brought in 1,809 million last year. For its part, Endesa Generación invoiced 4,651 million. Both business figures would give the CNMC room to impose the corresponding maximum penalty (6 million) without reaching 10% of its business figure. To the sanctions against these subsidiaries, Iberdrola, Endesa or Naturgy would have to add the fines that, eventually, arise from the procedures initiated individually against several of their plants.

In total, Iberdrola accumulates more than twenty files, and Naturgy and Endesa more than a dozen. Of course, the CNMC clarified that this barrage of sanctioning procedures does not necessarily have to do with the blackout. Many of the offenses that the supervisor is preparing to penalize were detected in the April 28 investigation, but occurred days, months or even years before the incident.