- This forum was promoted by the electricity company and the aim was to optimise resources and achieve maximum effectiveness and efficiency when taking joint action in the fight against electricity fraud and related crimes.
Endesa held a coordination forum on electricity fraud with the Civil Guard commanders from all the provinces of the IV Zone of Andalusia. The aim of this forum was to strengthen coordination between the Civil Guard and Endesa in order to optimise resources and achieve maximum effectiveness and efficiency when taking joint action in the fight against electricity fraud and related crimes.
The session took place at the headquarters of the IV Zone of the Civil Guard, located in the Andalusian capital and was attended by the Commanding Officer of the Civil Guard in the IV Zone of Andalusia, Alfonso Rodríguez Castillo, and the Endesa General Manager in Andalusia, Extremadura, Ceuta and Melilla, Rafael Sánchez Durán, who in their opening speeches talked about the problem posed by large-scale electricity fraud.
The Commanding Officer, Alfonso Rodríguez, reminded us of the proliferation of marijuana plantations detected by the Civil Guard. By the end of 2022, 61,772 kilos of marijuana and 1.5 million plants had been confiscated. He pointed out that "given these figures, the fight against drug trafficking and organised crime needs to be addressed comprehensively and not only by the police but with the involvement of all public and private sectors related to the threat."
The Civil Guard highlighted "the magnificent collaboration between Endesa and the different Civil Guard units, on the basis of which joint action is taken focused on detecting and dismantling marijuana plantations and fighting against electricity fraud and illegal connections to the grid."
"The massive fraud caused by marijuana plantations is a problem not only for the electricity supply but for society in general," explained Sánchez Durán, who pointed out that the consumption of an indoor marijuana plantation in a flat is the same as that for up to 80 homes, so "this generates an overload in the network that ultimately causes fires and problems for the safety of people and technicians who work every day to strengthen the network in the areas most affected by fraud."
The training session was attended by the Endesa team that is responsible for networks, e-distribución, and the company's legal team who explained the situation of fraud resulting from illegal connections to the grid. "In recent years," explained Endesa's experts, "the difficulty of detecting fraud has increased due to the professionalisation of this practice and the laxity of penalties within the Spanish legal framework"
This fraud resulting from the high consumption of marijuana plantations has been calculated at €2,097 million over the last four years, if the average price for electricity during this time is taken into account. But if the average price for the last year is used for the estimation, the cost of fraud in 2022 was €3,138 million that ended up being paid by all consumers. These losses in Spain are sanctioned with fines, while in other countries such as Italy or France the penalty for electricity fraud can be up to five years in prison.
Endesa gave special mention to the collaboration that already exists between the Civil Guard and the company when working on the detection of fraud. In Andalusia, more than 2,400 joint actions were taken last year, especially in Granada, followed by Seville and Almeria. According to the data provided by the company, an average of 6 actions are taken daily resulting in the detection of an average of 5 marijuana plantations per day. This collaboration with the security forces brought up today in order to seek mechanisms to accelerate communication between the two entities.
Endesa also emphasised the danger involved in handling these installations. Today's session also included an explanation of the systems available to Endesa with regard to the detection of fraud, ranging from traditional measurement systems to AI, because these practices are becoming more sophisticated by the day which makes them more difficult to detect.
The electricity fraud which Endesa and the Security Forces are jointly fighting against is the main cause of the supply cuts being suffered in some neighbourhoods in areas such as Seville and Granada. In order to alleviate this problem and to ensure a good-quality supply to customers with contracts in force, Endesa will continue to collaborate closely with entities such as the Civil Guard and will continue to make the investment required to tackle this problem.
About Endesa
Endesa is a leading electricity company in Spain and the second largest in Portugal. The company is also the second largest gas operator in the Spanish market. Endesa operates an end-to-end electricity generation, distribution and marketing business. Through Endesa X it also offers value-added services aimed at the electrification of energy usage in homes, companies, industries and Public Administrations. It is also the leading operator of charging stations in Spain through Endesa X Way, a business line dedicated entirely to electric mobility. 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 9,260 employees. Endesa is a division of Enel, the largest electricity group in Europe.