Spanish court acquits Iberdrola and four executives of inflating electricity prices
The Spanish judiciary announced Wednesday the acquittal of the major electricity company Iberdrola and four of its executives, who sat in the dock accused of fraudulently increasing the price of electricity.
"The Central Criminal Court of the National High Court has acquitted Iberdrola Generación España S.A.U. and four of its directors," tried in October "for having devised a system to increase the price of electricity between 30 November and 23 December 2013," the justice announced in a statement.
The prices were free at the time of the events
The prices of hydroelectric energy at the time of the facts were free for all generating companies with the only limitation of not being able to reach 180 euros (197 dollars) per megawatt hour, a limitation that disappeared later due to the requirements of the European Community.
For the magistrate, the price of the hydroelectric energy offered by Iberdrola Generación did not reach 180 euros per MWh.
The ruling states that "it is frankly very difficult to assess the existence of a crime for doing something that was not prohibited and was therefore legally permitted".
The prosecution requested a fine of 84 million euros (88.6 million dollars) and two years in prison for each of the directors.
Iberdrola operates in dozens of countries, mainly in Spain, the UK, the US, Brazil and Mexico.
In a context of high inflation in Europe and high corporate profits, energy prices in Spain have been a source of controversy and confrontation between companies and the government, which decided to impose a special tax on them, like banks, in 2023 and 2024.
