Without prejudging the outcome of the proceedings currently under review, the accumulation since October 2025 of sanctioning proceedings initiated by the National Commission on Markets and Competition (CNMC) against several electricity suppliers for alleged breaches of Article 65.25 of Law 24/2013, of 26 December, on the Electricity Sector indicates that obligations relating to customer service and consumer protection are being subject to particular scrutiny by the CNMC.
In this regard, Article 65.25 of the Electricity Sector Law classifies as a serious infringement:
“The failure by electricity distribution and supply companies to maintain and ensure the proper functioning of a service for handling complaints, claims and incidents relating to the contracted or offered service, requests for information on matters related to contracting and supply or communications, including a customer service telephone service and telephone number, both free of charge, as well as the failure to apply any of the consumer protection measures established in this Law and its implementing regulations, in particular those relating to vulnerable consumers.”
According to information published in various media outlets, these proceedings may be related to issues concerning the effective functioning of customer service channels, the handling of complaints and claims, and the clarity of the information provided to consumers by electricity suppliers.
The initiation of several sanctioning proceedings within a short period of time reflects significant supervisory activity by the CNMC with regard to customer service and consumer protection obligations in the electricity sector. From this perspective, these proceedings highlight the importance for electricity suppliers of continuously reviewing effective compliance, and not merely formal compliance, with the standards required under sector-specific regulations.