Iberdrola acquitted of charges of manipulating electricity prices in 2013
Iberdrola Generación was acquitted in the trial investigating whether the company – as well as four of its executives – manoeuvred to artificially raise the price of electricity at the end of 2013.
This is detailed in the ruling released on Wednesday, although it is dated 4 January, in which it is noted that this court decision – which can be appealed to the National High Court – leaves without effect the embargoes and other precautionary measures that were taken at the time against the electricity company chaired by Ignacio Sánchez Galán.
“It has been fully proven in court that Iberdrola placed on the market, on the dates analysed, all the hydroelectric energy it had available”, the ruling states, among other arguments to justify the decision.
Furthermore, at that time, all hydroelectric power generating companies were free to set any price “with the sole limitation of not being able to reach 180 euros per megawatt/hour, a limitation that disappeared some time later due to European Community requirements”.
The Audiencia Nacional (National High Court) annulled the embargoes and other precautionary measures against Iberdrola.
“It is frankly very complicated to assess the existence of an offence for carrying out something that was not prohibited and was therefore legally permitted”, summarises the judgement of a trial that was scheduled for sentencing last November, after 21 sessions.
In addition to Iberdrola Generación, for which the prosecution requested a fine of 5.4 million euros, four of its then executives were accused: the director of energy management, Ángel Chiarri; the head of optimisation, resource management and trading, Gregorio Relaño; the head of asset management, José Luis Rapún; and the head of short-term markets and global generation, Javier Paradinas.
