Enel S.p.A.
| 200px |
| Type |
Società per azioni |
| Traded as |
BIT: ENEL |
| Industry |
Electric utility |
| Founded |
27 November 1962 |
| Founder(s) |
Italian government |
| Headquarters |
Rome, Italy,European Union |
| Area served |
Italy, Spain, France, Belgium, Greece, Bulgaria, Slovakia, Romania, Russia, USA, Chile, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Panama, Costa Rica, Brazil |
| Key people |
Fulvio Conti (CEO), Paolo Andrea Colombo (Chairman) |
| Products |
Natural gas and electricity generation and distribution |
| Revenue |
€73.38 billion (2010)[1] |
| Operating income |
€11.26 billion (2010)[1] |
| Profit |
€4.390 billion (2010)[1] |
| Total assets |
€168.05 billion (end 2010)[1] |
| Total equity |
€53.55 billion (end 2010)[1] |
| Employees |
78,310 (end 2010)[1] |
| Subsidiaries |
Endesa (92%), Enel Green Power (67.5%), Empresa Nacional de Geotermia, Enel Brasil Partecipações, Enel North America Inc. |
| Website |
www.enel.com |
Enel S.p.A. (Ente Nazionale per l'energia ELettrica) is an Italian electric utility company, the third-largest in Europe by market capitalization.[2] Formerly a state-owned monopoly, it is now partially privatised with Italian government control: the largest shareholders are the Italian Ministry of Economy & Finance (13.9%) and the state-run bank Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (17.4%).
Its stock is traded on the Milan Stock Exchange under the symbol 'Enel'. In late 2007, Enel began formal proceedings to delist its American Depositary Receipts from the New York Stock Exchange. The formerly sponsored depositary receipts now trade over the counter in the U.S. with very light trading volume under the symbols ENLAY and ESOCF. Dividend yield is currently around 6.5% (2009).[3]
In 1960, an important conference on nationalisation of the electricity industry was organised by the Amici del Mondo (English: Friends of the World, a thinktank group that had split from the Liberal Party), backed by the Radical Party. The introductory report was given by Eugenio Scalfari, who stressed the probable beneficial effects on the price system and from the technical point of view and mentioned, exemplified by the experiences of nationalisation that had already taken place in France and the United Kingdom.
The conference provoked a great political debate. The electricity system, because of its very nature, was extremely influential at the political level.
The conference almost immediately turned into discussions preparatory to the law, in which the most controversial point was the method of compensation to the former shareholders (these included a large number of small investors).
The opinion of Guido Carli, governor of the Banca d'Italia, prevailed and compensation was immediately paid. Riccardo Lombardi, on the contrary, had proposed deferring payment of compensation over four years, to be guaranteed with bonds. Carli had threatened to resign if his plan was not adopted, which would have thrown the country into chaos since such an act would have been seen, to international commentators too, as a very serious attack on the credibility of the political and economical system.
The first task that Enel faced was to take over no less than 1,270 companies operating in the electricity industry and give them a common management, technical and operational organisation. One of the most complex technical operations was the creation of a so-called “dispatch” centre, that is a super-centre to coordinate all supplies to Italian users and procure supplies from abroad. It was the starting point for reorganising the system to make it less fragmented. Over the years, the system was put in order and the reorganisation carried out then still forms the operating framework for the current setup.
Enel was involved in the Vajont Dam disaster, which took place at the Vajont reservoir, which was artificially created to produce a large quantity of hydroelectric power. On October 9, 1963 a huge landslide of 260 million cubic metres fell into the reservoir. The dam and power plant had been built by SADE (Società Adriatica di Elettricità – Adriatic Electricity Company) and then sold to Edison and had just been transferred as part of the nationalisation process to the newly set up Enel.
The impact of the landslide created huge waves in the Vajont reservoir, which partially flooded the villages of Erto e Casso and swept over the dam, totally wiping out the towns in the valley below it: Longarone, Pirago, Rivalta, Villanova and Faè. Approximately two thousand people died in the disaster. Enel and Montedison, were charged at the ensuing trial as the companies responsible for the disaster, a responsibility considered all more serious because of the predictability of the event. The two companies were forced to pay damages to the communities involved in the catastrophe.
When consumptions increased along with rapid changes in lifestyles (due for example to the huge popularity of home appliances), Enel achieved the second highest industrial turnover in Italy, second only to Fiat.
Over the next few years, priority was given to “rural electrification”, that is expansion of the electricity network to country districts as a political commitment; geographical irregularities undoubtedly made this operation costly, requiring construction of a high number of infrastructures (from substations to transmission lines supported by pylons), to guarantee the right to electricity of almost all citizen-users.
The international oil crisis which was to lead Italy to adopt “austerity” policies (1974), was a spur to numerous research projects on possible alternative fuel sources for power production. Enel resumed research into nuclear power and was given permission to build new power plants. Research into other forms of energy, such as wind power, despite the fact that they had for some time been the subject of in-depth analysis, were set aside in favour of upgrading of the old hydroelectric power stations, many of which were fitted with equipment to repump the water. Yet inconveniences regarded many aspects of daily life: exceptional regulations involving such measures as compulsory early closing of shops and closing down TV transmissions earlier, plus countless other expedients, were introduced to drastically reduce consumption of electricity that up to only a short time previously has been so strongly promoted. Consumption dropped and the government issued a National Energy Plan (1975) which essentially marked a decided shift towards nuclear power. Consumption, however, dropped due to a slump in industrial production too, a sign of a crisis that had originated in energy but had spread to the overall economic situation; this had an impact on the population who for once were more willing to accept restrictive regulations, such as limitations to home heating (still in force).
Italy remained, however, the major European country most dependent upon thermoelectric power generation, and thus the country which suffered most on each of the numerous occasions when there were problems for supplies of oil or increases in its cost. Such problems were leading to new plans for nuclear power when the disaster struck at the Ukraine nuclear power plant in Chernobyl in 1986. This event certainly had an influence on the proposal and above all on the result of the referendums held on 8 November 1987, when the population voted to reject the use of nuclear power.
Law 9/1991 authorised Enel to set up companies operating in the sectors where it did business, at the same time paving the way to partial liberalisation of electricity production.
The next year a law by decree (no. 333) was passed on 11 July 1992, and converted into law 8 August 1992, no. 359, as a result of which Enel became a joint stock company whose main shareholder was the Italian Treasury.
In 1999 the so-called Bersani Decree led to the setting up within the Enel Group of a new company called Terna to which all the company assets related to the high voltage power grid were transferred. Enel remained the sole shareholder of Terna until 2004 while its management, to guarantee neutrality, was entrusted to a newly set up public agency: GRTN (Gestore della Rete di Trasmissione Nazionale – National power grid manager). Subsequently, Terna was listed on the Stock Exchange and 30% of its shares were assigned to the Cassa Depositi e Prestiti.
In 2001, the telecommunications company Infostrada was bought for 12 billion euros from the German company Mannesmann, and was then merged with Wind, a mobile phone company already controlled by Enel. In May 2005, Enel sold 70% of Wind to Naguib Sawiris, President of the Orascom Telecom Holding, through a corporate vehicle (Weather Investments). In December 2006 Enel completed its exit from the telecommunications industry with the sale of a further 26.1% to Weather Investment.
Liberalisation of the electricity market took place in 1999 with the so-called Bersani Decree, which certainly had a huge impact on the subsequent development of Enel.
The issue of Enel’s monopoly in the specific market of electricity had been raised when legal aspects related to the principles of free competition were discussed. The case had some similarities with the one previously handled for Telecom Italia, a state-owned telephone monopoly. In order to encourage liberalisation, Enel was forced to transfer management of the power grid (Terna) subsequently giving up its ownership too, and to sell 15,000 MW of power plants (a capacity similar to that of the whole of Belgium) to its competitors, as well as selling the distribution network in major cities (Rome, Milan, Turin, Verona, Brescia, Trento, Modena, etc.) to the former municipal companies.
The Italian electricity market, one of the most liberalised in Europe, currently comprises around 100 utility companies including major European groups such as France’s Électricité de France and GDF Suez, Germany’s E.ON and RWE, Switzerland’s Atel and Retia, and Austria’s Verbund. The Electric Energy and Gas Authority has often cited the case of liberalisation of the electricity market as a success.
In its strictest sense, denationalisation means transfer to private parties of more than 50% of shares in the corporate capital or in any case of a sufficient portion of the shares to ensure the relative majority of the voting rights and control of the company is privately owned. The Treasury is still Enel’s controlling shareholder, but over time has sold approximately 70% of the company’s shares, now owned by around 1.3 million small Italian investors, investment funds, banks and insurance companies all over the world.
After the denationalisation of the single centralised agency that managed energy, the production of which was concentrated in very few “large sized” power plants, discussions began on energy devolution whereby each community would produce, and use locally, the energy it needs. The aim of this energy policy is the construction of medium-sized power plants, principally generated from renewable sources.
Solar energy provides only a marginal share of the national electricity requirements: less than 0.001%, while in Germany it accounts for as much as 0.3% of the energy produced. Enel operates in this sector, which in any case represents an extremely interesting option for future electricity generation: Enel Green Power runs the 3.3 MW power plant at Serre Persano, one of the largest photovoltaic plants in the world and is completing around 50 MW of photovoltaic installations elsewhere in Italy, with major plans for growth over the coming years.
At Priolo Gargallo, Enel has started up the Archimede Project, a 5 MW solar thermal plant jointly designed with ENEA (Ente Nazionale per le Nuove technologie e l’Ambiente - National Council for New Technology, Energy and the Environment). This plant, inaugurated on 14 July 2010, is based on an innovative idea for making use of solar energy which consists of a process of industrial integration between a solar thermodynamic plant and a conventional gas combined cycle power plant. Over the past three years, with Enel.si, the leading company in the photovoltaic market at national level, Enel has supervised the installation of over 50 MW of photovoltaic plants for industrial, service and domestic customers.
These plants will permit production over the coming years of about 61,500 MWh per year of electricity from solar sources at national level, equivalent to the consumption of around 20,000 Italian families, with a total annual saving of around 36,000 tons of CO2.
Wind power has increased exceptionally over the past few years. It is estimated that it will continue to grow in the near future at a rate of approximately 30% per year. In Italy over the past decade it has been the source that has had the greatest increase. Enel Green Power currently runs 17 wind parks, with an overall capacity of 331 MW. Enel.si has also recently launched a new offer of miniature wind turbines for families: small wind power generators that can power individual houses, cottages, farm holiday establishments, but also small weather stations, or even boats, provided that there is sufficient wind in the area.
In the field of renewable sources, Italy can claim world leadership in geothermal energy know-how (with 31 geothermal power plants in Tuscany and a production of over 5 billion kWh per year) which it is exporting to the United States and Latin America. Further increases in geothermal power production in Italy is an important target in the strategy of Enel Green Power.
Additionally hydroelectric power makes a significant contribution to satisfying Italy’s demand for electricity covering around 15% of its requirements. Enel has therefore built up an impressive level of know-how that makes it a world leader with regard to development of this renewable source. Today, since potential hydroelectric sources are now almost fully exploited, the company is looking with particular interest at the development of small-scale hydro power which could provide a significant contribution to coverage of the demand for electricity. Small-scale hydro power plants can be constructed and run using methods that have little impact on the territory and can be managed by small communities, as well as being integrated into a multiple and balanced use of water resources. Enel Green Power currently manages over 270 local hydroelectric plants in Italy, with a total capacity of 1,507 MW.
Enel is also taking part in a European platform for research into smart grids, the distribution grids of the future, which permit consumers to interact in real time with the grid: finding out the current price of energy, deciding whether to consume electricity at that moment or to put off consumption to times when there is a lower load, analysing whether it is convenient to generate power for their own consumption. The result will be an electricity supply grid similar to an internet network in which the various users, consulting each other and exchanging the necessary information, can define energy flows locally, while respecting technical and safety restrictions.
Enel is Italy’s largest power company, and Europe’s second listed utility by installed capacity. It is an integrated player, active in the power and gas sectors. Enel operates in more than 40 countries worldwide, has around 95,000 MW of net installed capacity and sells power and gas to more than 61 million customers.
| year |
Production (TWh) |
Emission (Gt CO2) |
kg CO2/MWh |
| 2002 |
228 |
120.4 |
529 |
| 2003 |
232 |
115.51 |
499 |
| 2004 |
222 |
111.92 |
514 |
| 2005 |
206 |
106.52 |
528 |
| 2006 |
193 |
92.99 |
495 |
| 2007 |
185 |
92.25 |
498 |
| 2008 |
186 |
83 |
447 |
| 2009 |
170 |
77.29 |
454 |
Enel produces, distributes and sells electricity and gas all over Europe, North America and Latin America. After taking over the Spanish electricity company Endesa, together with its partner Acciona, Enel is now in business in 40 countries, with a capacity of around 83,000 MW, and serves over 49 million customers supplying electricity and gas.
Enel is also the second utility company in the natural gas market in Italy, with approximately 2.6 million customers and a 10% market share in terms of volume.
Approximately 80,000 people work for Enel running a highly diversified power station park including hydroelectric, thermoelectric, nuclear, geothermal, wind and photovoltaic generation. In 2009, Enel posted revenues of more than 64 billion euros (+4.7% compared with 2008), EBITDA of more than 16 billion euros (+12.1% compared with 2008) and net income of 5.4 billion euros (+1.9% compared with 2008). As of June 30th 2010, the Group has over 80,000 employees and operates a wide range of hydroelectric, thermoelectric, nuclear, geothermal, wind-power, photovoltaic and other renewables’ plants. About 44% of the power generated by Enel is carbon free. Enel is strongly committed to the development of renewable energy sources and to the development of new environmental friendly technologies.
On December 1, 2008 Enel established Enel Green Power, the Group’s Company dedicated to the development and management of power generation from renewable energy, operating around 5,800 MW of installed capacity relying on hydro, wind, geothermal, solar, biomass and co-generation sources in Europe and the Americas.
Enel was the first utility in the world to replace its 32 million Italian customers’ traditional electromechanical meters with modern electronic devices that make it possible to take meter readings in real time and manage contractual relationships remotely. This innovation, which is key to the development of smart grids, has attracted interest from many utilities around the world. In Spain, Endesa is about to install 13 million electronic meters to its customers.
After completing the sale of non-core assets, Enel has focussed on consolidating the businesses taken over abroad in the electricity and gas sectors and further integrating its business.
Enel global production sites
With power plants generating over 30,000 MW from renewable energy sources (water, geothermal, wind, solar and biomass) in Europe and in the Americas, Enel is one of the world leaders in the power generation industry. Additionally, Enel is strongly committed to increasing the percentage of power from renewable sources and to research and development of new environmentally friendly technologies with many projects in Italy and abroad.
On 17 September 2008, Enel set up Enel Green Power, the Group company devoted to development and management of electricity generation from renewable sources everywhere in the world, a company that operates hydroelectric, wind power, geothermal, photovoltaic and biomass plants producing a total of 4,500 MW in Europe and in the Americas.
Enel has power plants in Europe (Bulgaria, France, Greece, Italy, Romania, Russia, Slovakia and Spain), in North America (Canada and the United States) and in Latin America (Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico and Panama). With Endesa, Enel’s presence is extended to Argentina, Colombia, Morocco, Peru and Portugal.
In Spain, Enel owns 92.06% of the share capital of Endesa, the leading power company of the country and first private power company in Latin America. Furthermore, Enel Green Power runs operations in the renewables field in Spain and Portugal.
In North America, Enel has plants generating 788 MW (water, geothermal, wind and biomass) and has recently signed an agreement with TradeWind Energy in the United States to develop over 1000 MW of new generation wind power plants. In March 2007, operating through its subsidiary Enel North America, Enel announced the takeover of AMP Resources. The takeover comprises, in the geothermal development area, four projects at an advanced stage and one that is now operational which will add around 150 MW of power to Enel operations in America, as well as providing access to a range of future opportunities. On 2 October 2008, Enel inaugurated the 250 MW Smoky Hills Wind Farm in Kansas, the largest built by the group in the world and the largest ever built in Kansas. On 17 April 2009 two innovative geothermal plants were inaugurated by Enel Green Power in Churchill County in Nevada. Stillwater and Salt Wells, as the new plants are called, have a total gross installed capacity of 65 MW.
In Latin America, Enel owns 668 MW of wind and hydroelectric plants. Through Endesa, the Enel Group is among the leading players in Latin America around 16 GW installed capacity from thermoelectric, large hydro and renewables, of which 4.4 GW in Argentina, 1 GW in Brazil, 5.6 GW in Chile, 2.9 GW in Colombia and 1.8 GW in Peru.
In France, Enel is present today in the French nuclear sector via a 12.5% stake in the new generation Evolutionary Pressurized Reactor (EPR), whose first plant (1,600 MW) is currently being constructed at Flamanville, in Normandy. In the same country, Enel is also present in the renewables sector through Enel Green Power with 68 MW of operational wind turbines and a pipeline of around 500 MW. In the power trading sector, Enel owns 5% of the French power stock exchange Powernext. Over more, the company supplied 3.3 TWh to major French consumers in 2009.
In March 2003, Enel took over control of Maritza East III, a 602 MW plant fuelled by lignite and one of the major power plants in Bulgaria.
In Slovakia, Enel owns 66% of Slovenské elektrárne (SE), the largest electricity generator in the country, and the second-largest in Central and Eastern Europe, with a generation capacity of 5,345 MW, a mix of nuclear, thermal and hydro assets.
In Romania, Enel sells electricity through Enel Energie and Enel Energie Muntenia. It distributes electricity through Enel Distributie Banat, Enel Distributie Dobrogea and Enel Distributie Muntenia. Overall, the group has 2.6 million customers in the country.
In Russia, Enel is a vertically integrated operator from upstream to generation and sale of electricity. In the upstream sector, through SeverEnergia (a consortium 19.6% Enel, 51% Gazprom, 29.4% Eni) Enel operates a group of promising natural gas fields. Currently, Enel owns 56.39% of Enel OGK-5, formerly known as JCS Fifth Generation Company of the Wholesale Electricity Market (“OGK-5”). Enel OGK-5 has four thermoelectric power plants for about 8,200 MW. The plants are positioned in the highest growth rate areas of the country. In the power sale sector, Enel owns 49.5% of RusEnergoSbyt, the most important Russian trader, providing electricity to major industrial customers.
The list of shareholders at January 11, 2010 according to data from Consob (Italian Securities and Investments Board) on major shareholders:[4]
Board of Directors in office at October 2010.
- Chairman: Paolo Andrea Colombo
- Chief Executive Officer and General Manager: Fulvio Conti
- Director: Alessandro Banchi
- Director: Lorenzo Codogno
- Director: Mauro Miccio
- Director: Fernando Napolitano
- Director: Pedro Solbes Mìra
- Director: Angelo Taraborrelli
- Director: Gianfranco Tosi
The companies currently controlled by the group are listed below in alphabetical order:
- DEVAL
- Enel Distribuzione S.p.A.
- Enel Energia S.p.A.
- Enel FACTOR
- Enel Green Power S.p.A.
- Enel Produzione SPA
- Enel Servizi
- Enel Servizio Elettrico S.p.A.
- Enel SO.LE
- Enel.si
- Enel Trade S.p.a.
- Punt.Enel
Between 2002 and 2004, the conclusion of the reorganisation process provided for in the Bersani Decree, sales of the company’s interests in water management and real estate assets, permitted Enel to implement a new strategy focussing on its core business, that is energy. Enel is committed to a process of diversification of energy sources to reduce dependency on oil and gas and, as a consequence, also reduce the price of energy.
On 30 July 2008, Enel inaugurated a new clean coal power plant at Civitavecchia, a project which began at the end of 2003. It involved conversion of an old power plant run on fuel oil. The new plant has a total capacity of 1,980 MW, comprises three units and is able to satisfy 50% of electricity demands for the Lazio Region. By using improved technology, the plant reduces total emissions by 88% and CO2 emissions by 18%. Enel has plans for a similar conversion of the plant at Porto Tolle (Rovigo), where the authorisation procedure is still under way.
With regard to gas, some years ago Enel concluded construction of 5 combined cycle power plants to replace traditional gas-fuelled plants, increasing efficiency and reducing emissions. With its subsidiary Nuove Energie, Enel is also working on a project to build a regassifier with a capacity of 8 billion cubic metres at Porto Empedocle (Agrigento, Sicily), for which the authorisation procedure is nearing conclusion. The plant will make it possible to import gas into Italy in liquid form, using special methane tanker ships, and then feed it into the distribution mains. Attention to ethical aspects has also increased over recent years, recognised at world level with the inclusion of Enel in the most prestigious stock exchange indexes which take into account the commitment of companies to Corporate Social Responsibility.
After fulfilling the obligations under Italian law by completing the sale of Terna (the company that manages the national power grid), Enel has devoted itself to internationalisation of its business by finalising a number of very significant take-overs including Slovenské elektrárne (SE) the most important electricity company in Slovakia and the second most important in Central-Eastern Europe, a number of distribution companies in Romania, the Russian Ogk 5 generating company and the Spanish electricity company Endesa.
At the end of 2006, the Group presented a pro-environment plan, involving investments in renewable sources and for research and application of the best technologies for reduction of emissions. In this field, Enel is working on a number of avant-garde projects for CO2 capture and storage. Considered by the European Commission to be some of the most interesting in this field, these projects aim to generate electricity from fossil fuel with “zero emissions”: using CO2 capture and storage technologies, flue gases will in fact be captured in the chimney stacks and safely stored in deep aquifers or exhausted methane or oil fields.
At the end of 2008/beginning of 2009, Enel began selling off a number of assets to reduce its financial debts, which had increased over the previous months, due to the takeover of 92% of the capital of Endesa. The assets sold included Enel Linee Alta Tensione (high voltage power transmission grid), sold by Enel Distribuzione to Terna in December 2008, and 80% of Enel Rete Gas (31,000 km of gas distribution pipelines, 99.98% controlled by Enel Distribuzione which will in any case maintain a minority shareholding of around 20%), on 29 May 2009 to a consortium headed by F2I and AXA, for the sum of 480 million euros. The contract will now have to be approved by the Autorità Garante della Concorrenza e del Mercato (the Italian Competition Authority) and AEEG (the Italian Authority for Electricity and Gas).
Again to improve the financial stability of the Group, on 1 June 2009 Enel launched a capital increase of a total of around 8 billion euros.
Italian prices, in some cases, are more expensive than average European rates, partly because Italy produces 70% of its electricity from hydrocarbons, while in the rest of Europe the same percentage is produced from coal and nuclear fuel. The Authority for Electricity and Gas sets the prices every 3 months based on the fuel price trend. Additionally, national and local authority taxes account for a large part of electricity bills. Following full liberalisation of the electricity market for domestic customers too, which took place on 1 July 2007, Enel has launched a series of commercial offers addressed to families. The latest “Energia tutto compreso” (all-inclusive energy), offers customers a fixed price for their electricity, based on selection of the level of consumption that best suits their needs.
Enel Cuore was founded in October 2003 by the project, supported by Enel and its subsidiaries, in order to create a non-profit organization separate from the company itself and able to carry out activities in support of communities, families and individuals while maintaining the ideals of cooperation.
Proceeds totalled 38,513 million euros (33,787 million in 2005, + 14.0%). EBITDA were 8,019 million euros (7,745 million in 2005, +3.5%); net of an allocation of around 400 million euros for an operating excellence plan, EBITDA 2006 increased by 8.7% over 2005. EBIT were 5,819 million euros (5,538 million in 2005, +5.1%). The Group’s net profits were 3,036 million euros (3,895 million in 2005, - 22.1%); net of the contribution by Wind and Terna, the Group’s net profits in 2006 increased by 1.4% over 2005. Net financial borrowing totalled 11,690 million euros (12,312 million at 31 December 2005, -5.1%). The total dividend offered for the whole 2006 financial year was 0.49 euros per share (of which 0.2 euros per share was paid in advance in November 2006).
Proceeds totalled 43,673 million euros (+13.4%), EBITDA were 10,023 million (+25.0%), EBIT were 6,990 million (+20.1%), the Group’s net profits were 3,977 million (+31.0%), net financial borrowing increased to 55,791 million due to the Endesa take-over, total net assets were 23,789 million, the Debt-Equity ratio was 2.35. The dividend offered for the whole 2007 financial year was 0.49 euros per share (of which 0.2 euros per share was paid in advance in November 2007).
Proceeds rose to 61,184 million euros (+40.0%), EBITDA were 14,318 million euros (+45.5%), EBIT were 9 million euros (+40.7%), the Group’s net profits increased to 5,293 million euros (+35.2%) net financial borrowing dropped to 49,967 million euros (-10.4%). The dividend offered for the whole 2008 financial year was 0.49 euros per share (of which 0.2 euros per share was paid in advance in November 2008).
