- Over the past five years, more than 300,000 cases of fraud have been uncovered, with the volume of recovered energy equivalent to the consumption of one million households.
- Cannabis plantations account for nearly 30% of the stolen energy.
- Last year, Endesa dismantled an average of 43 plantations illegally connected to the grid each week.
- The overload caused by tampering with electrical installations led to 24 fires in the distribution network infrastructure last year.
In 2024, Endesa detected 71,000 cases of electricity fraud, averaging eight cases per hour or nearly 200 cases per day. These figures represent a 33% increase from 2023. It also highlights the scale of a problem with serious consequences for public safety, the quality of electricity supply, and the cost of electricity bills for all consumers. Cannabis plantations and large-scale consumers - including industries and businesses - account for most of the stolen energy, due to increasing professionalisation of fraud.
The energy recovered from fraud detected last year by e-distribución (Endesa's distribution subsidiary) exceeded 867 million kWh, a 31% increase from 2023. This volume is equivalent to the consumption of approximately 250,000 households, confirming the significant impact of electricity theft. Over the past five years, Endesa's network subsidiary has detected more than 300,000 fraud cases, recovering energy equivalent to the annual consumption of one million households.
Large-scale consumption linked to businesses, industries, and cannabis plantations accounts for the majority of detected fraud. Specifically, Endesa dismantled more than 43 tampered installations used to power cannabis plantations weekly in 2024, in operations carried out alongside law enforcement agencies. These installations, found in buildings, warehouses, single-family homes, or apartments - commonly known as indoor plantations - pose a significant risk to their surroundings.
Impact of cannabis plantations on safety and electricity supply
Tampering with electrical installations poses significant risks to the health and safety of both those performing the modifications and those nearby. These illegal connections can lead to fires and electrocutions, causing severe injuries or even fatalities.
In areas with a high concentration of plantations, electricity demand surges to industrial levels. There have been cases of residential buildings consuming as much electricity as a hospital, causing grid protections to trip and leading to power outages for all neighbouring residents. The strain on the grid has even resulted in fires in electrical installations. One example is the 24 fires recorded this year in e-distribución transformer stations due to grid overload caused by fraud.
These indoor plantations, mostly controlled by criminal organisations, not only pose physical dangers due to tampered electrical installations but also contribute to public safety deterioration in affected areas. This situation impacts both residents and workers. Field workers from e-distribución and its contractors must wear hoods and be accompanied by law enforcement when performing their duties to prevent identification, as they have faced assaults while dismantling cases of fraud.
The impact of electrical tampering is also evident in terms of electricity supply quality. Indoor cannabis plantations consume vast amounts of energy to maintain the necessary lighting, temperature, and ventilation conditions. The aim is to accelerate crop cycles, often through illegal connections to the grid. Each of these cannabis ‘greenhouses’ consumes as much electricity as approximately 80 homes of around 100 m2. Last year, plantations disconnected from the grid in the e-distribución area accounted for nearly 30% of the fraud detected by the company.
The link between these plantations and the quality of electricity supply in certain areas is so strong that after police raids dismantling indoor cannabis farms, electricity consumption plummets and supply disruptions drop by up to 90%.
Still, the significant reductions in electricity consumption observed after police interventions are only temporary, as illegal connections are re-established within hours or days. A more lenient legal framework compared to other countries has not helped curb the proliferation of illegal hookups. In countries such as France, Germany, and Italy, there is a distinction between severe and minor cases, with electricity fraud leading to prison sentences. In Spain, however, electricity theft can only be punished with fines, with no aggravating factors or impact on repeat offences.
Inspections and technology
e-distribución employs cutting-edge technologies and AI to combat electricity fraud. The introduction of AI has doubled the success rate of fraud detection inspections. Grid digitalisation, sensor roll-out, and the implementation of smart meters allow for greater data collection. Machine learning and deep learning techniques are used to analyse these data, detecting anomalies and discrepancies.
Since 2016, experts in data science and big data have joined Endesa to work alongside field inspectors in developing and improving predictive models to combat fraud.
Last year, Endesa conducted approximately 428,000 inspections to verify cases of fraud, many of which came from anonymous reports made by citizens. In 2024, more than 17,500 inspections were carried out based on citizen reports, leading to the dismantling of over 3,500 cases of electricity theft. Citizens can report anomalies anonymously through the following channels: email anomalias@enel.com, phone 800760220, and online form (available on the e-distribución website).
About Endesa
Endesa is a leading electricity company in Spain and the second largest in Portugal. It is also the second largest gas operator in the Spanish market. It undertakes end-to-end business including the generation, distribution and retailing of electricity. It also offers electric mobility services, where it is one of the main operators of charging stations in Spain, and, through the Endesa X brand, value-added services aimed at the electrification of energy uses in homes, companies, industries and Public Administrations. Endesa is firmly committed to the United Nations SDGs and strongly supports the development of renewable energies through Enel Green Power España, the digitalisation of grids through e-distribución and Corporate Social Responsibility. The Endesa Foundation is also active in CSR. Our workforce numbers around 9,000 employees. Endesa is part of Enel, Europe's largest electricity group.