ENERGY REGULATION IN SPAIN: FROM MONOPOLY TO MARKET

The National Energy Commission was created in April of 2000, joining with the preparatory work of the National Electricity System Commission (Comisión del Sistema Eléctrico Nacional, CSEN), from 1994 to 1997, and that of the National Commission for the Electricity System (Comisión Nacional del Sistema Eléctrico, CNSE), thereafter. The passing years have witnessed profound transformations in different areas of our economy which have meant, specifically, a real change of coordinates for the Spanish energy sector. Driven by very diverse variables, from regulatory, economic and business, to technological, the subsectors of petroleum, gas and electricity, subject to regulatory overseeing, have been entering a new scenario governed by the market, very different to the initial scene.
In this work, at the same time as commemorating ten years of energy regulation in Spain, a set of analyses on Spain's position in the new international energy panorama is also offered, including the positioning of our energy companies and the structure of the markets in which they are involved. All these aspects try to bring the clarity required by the regulator, in a setting of difficult challenges, to achieve its mission.