- In 2023 alone, Endesa detected nearly 150 instances of tampering with the grid per day.
- 37% of energy fraud detected last year is linked to marijuana cultivation, almost 10% more than in 2022 and 83% more than five years ago.
- Marijuana farms and fraud in high consumption account for 74% of fraudulent volume.
- The economic valuation of losses at national level exceeds 2 billion per year, which is 69 euros per year for each supply.
Electricity fraud in Spain has increased significantly in recent years, to the point of becoming a serious problem with a special impact in some areas across the country. In the last five years, the number of cases Endesa has detected of tampering with electrical installations has grown by 35%, and cases linked to marijuana farms have shot up by almost 70%.
Last year alone, e-distribución, an Endesa network subsidiary, shut down nearly 150 fraud operations a day, a practice that poses a serious threat to people's safety and causes significant damage to society as a whole. Estimates indicate that electricity fraud costs Spanish consumers as a whole more than 2 billion a year, the equivalent of 69 euros per year for each supply point.
"The manipulation of electrical installations affects us all. It poses a physical risk that can even lead to the death of those involved or of third parties who have nothing to do with this illegal practice, it affects the quality of supply to neighbours and it costs money to all consumers," says José Manuel Revuelta, Endesa's General Manager of Grids.
In the last five years, fraud cases of all kinds detected by e-distribution have increased by 35%: from 39,300 cases in 2019 to nearly 53,300 in 2023. Recovered energy linked to these cases has shot up by 58% to 662GWh, equivalent to the consumption of 190,000 households.
Marijuana farms and high consumptions linked to industrial activity and businesses accounted for 74% of the fraudulent energy consumption detected last year by the Endesa subsidiary. The other quarter corresponded to the residential sector, although it is noteworthy that only 2% was found in homes with lower consumption, with a power capacity of less than 3KW.
Marijuana farms
In contrast, facilities for growing marijuana inside buildings, known as indoor farms, now account for 37% of the energy recovered in the frauds detected by Endesa, almost 10% more than a year ago.
Cases for illegal connections to the electricity grid linked to cannabis farms in the areas where e-distribution operates have increased by nearly 70% in the last five years, and the energy recovered in these cases has grown by 83% in the same period. Every day in 2023, e-distribution technicians disconnected an average of 7 marijuana farms from the grid.
Each farm consumes as much electricity as 80 homes, on average, so the impact of these fraudulent operations on the losses of the electricity system, the deterioration of equipment and the quality of supply in areas with a high percentage of fraud is evident.
It is estimated that marijuana farms consume about 2.2 TWh of electricity in Spain, equivalent to the consumption of Seville in one year. In some areas, these illegal operations account for up to 80% of electricity consumption. The lighting and ventilation systems used to accelerate plant growth operate through illegal connections that wreak havoc on the electricity grid. They generate overloads that activate the protection mechanisms of the transformer substations, causing supply interruptions that affect all the residents of the area and, in extreme cases, can cause fires in underground lines or even in newly installed transformer substations. Over the past year, 14 transformer substations caught fire in Seville and Granada alone due to overloads resulting from fraud.
The proliferation of these illegal installations, controlled by "real transnational organisations with powerful criminal activity" according to the Ministry of the Interior, also poses a risk for the performance of e-distribution inspectors and technicians, who must act under cover to avoid being identified and carry out their work with police escorts. In the last year, e-distribución participated in nearly 2,400 Security Force operations to dismantle indoor marijuana farms, a collaboration that is strengthened by the continuous exchange of data and extends to other cases of tampering with the electricity grid, since, in six out of ten cases, Security Force collaboration is necessary to cut off fraudulent electricity supplies.
Inspections & technology
The use of artificial intelligence and new technologies have become essential tools to combat fraud that is increasingly professionalised and in which there is a high rate of repeat offence, behind which lies a perception of low economic risk and more lax legislation than in other neighbouring countries. In Spain, electricity fraud is classified as a minor offence with a penalty of a fine, unlike in countries such as France, Germany, Portugal or Italy, where it is considered a serious crime that can carry a prison sentence.
To combat this problem, which affects all citizens, e-distribución carried out nearly 400,000 inspections last year and plans to carry out 1.5 million inspections in 2024-2026.
The collaboration of citizens is also crucial in the fight against this crime. Citizens can anonymously report to their distribution company if they suspect fraud is being committed near them. Customers in Endesa's distribution area can write to anomalias@enel.com, call the toll-free number 800760220 or fill out a form on the edistribución.com website. Last year, 55,000 reports were registered through these channels, which enabled 21,260 grid inspections to be carried out.
Endesa reiterates its willingness to collaborate with governments, institutions and security forces to find solutions to this problem, which poses a serious danger to people and the electricity grid, is the source of electrocutions and fires, affects the quality of supply and has a high cost for society as a whole.
About Endesa
Endesa is a leading electricity company in Spain and the second largest in Portugal. In addition, it is the second largest gas operator in the Spanish market. Develop an integrated electricity generation, distribution and marketing business. It also offers, through Endesa X, value-added services aimed at the electrification of energy uses in homes, companies, industries and public administrations, including electric mobility, where it is one of the main operators of charging stations in Spain. 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 (CSR). 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.