The CNMC lowers its regulatory cut to 22% of the public investee Enagás by 22%

The National Commission of Markets and Competition (CNMC) has approved to reduce the planned cut in the regulated remuneration of gas transportation and regasification activities following the warnings and complaints of the affected companies, investors and analysts.

The Plenary of the agency will leave the final adjustment on this item at 17% compared to the 21.8% announced in a draft circulating last July, when this item was reduced to 1,186 million euros. That is, the adjustment is reduced by 22% with respect to the initial figure, as explained to EL MUNDO, knowledgeable sources of the process.

The reduction of gas tolls is a fundamental part of the strategy for reducing regulated costs of the system with which the CNMC wants to reduce the price of the gas rate of millions of homes and businesses. Only the cost of transport and regasification amounts to around 20% of the fixed part of the invoice, so the smaller reduction will imply a lower reduction of the receipt.

The CNMC circular will now be referred to the State Council and is still open for final modifications. Its execution is planned for the 2021-2026 regulatory period , although the regulatory body has agreed to approve the methodology before the end of the current year after receiving the powers in energy matters from the Ministry of Ecological Transition. The remuneration for the whole period will amount to 5,920 million euros, the same sources explain.

Competition had focused on this activity the largest proportional cut over the energy sector with the argument that these are low-risk investment activities that operate, such as Enagás, under a natural monopoly regime. This company, which has a 5% stake in the State , has suffered in recent months a real stock market turbulence due to the numerous alerts from stock market investors and analysts about the impact of the new regulation on its income statement.

In fact, the rating agency Standard & Poor's still warned on Wednesday that it keeps the energy group under review for the threat of impact of the CNMC and its great dependence on the domestic market. To the electric groups, with a more diversified business, the rating agency has chosen to keep its current note after the smoothing approved in the final version by the regulator.

With the agreement regarding the gas transport circular, the CNMC Plenary has already seen most of the 11 energy circulars with which it intends to thoroughly review the regulated remuneration of the energy sector. The revision of the gas distribution circular is pending, with special impact on the Naturgy group.

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