Electricity accessibility

Enel is close to citizens in Italy and all the countries in which it operates to improve and maintain access to electricity in the poorest areas and for people who are less well off.
In Italy the electricity distribution industry is regulated by the Electricity and Gas Authority (AEEG), which requires the company that has the network infrastructure in concession to ensure equal conditions to all firms that request to access and use it. The objective is to support liberalization in favor of end customers and healthy competition among the different firms that operate in the free market, such as the producers and sellers of electricity. As in all the European countries where Enel operates as a distributor, the percentage of the population that is not served by the electricity network is zero, while in Latin America – where several areas are characterized by inadequate infrastructure – the Company carries out rural electrification projects. (For further information on this subject, see page 220).
To facilitate access to electricity by people who are financially disadvantaged, since 2008 for electricity and 2009 for gas a “social bonus” has been in effect which is financed by the government and with special rates determined by the Authority. The bonus constitutes a reduction for household customers who suffer economic hardship and – only with regard to electricity – who use life-saving electric medical devices. Bonus requests are managed by municipalities, and if approved the bills of such customers show a credit that varies according to the size of the family, their use category, and the climatic zone in which they live (for gas) or the kind of hardship from which they suffer (for electricity). The threshold for admission to the system for people suffering economic hardship is established on the basis of the ISEE (equivalent economic situation indicator), which must not exceed 7,500 euro or – for large families – 20,000 euro.
At the end of 2010 there were more than 1,500,000 families in Italy that were receiving the electricity bonus, while about 640,000 were entitled to receive the gas reduction.
Of these, more than 780,000 families were served by Enel Servizio Elettrico and 100,000 (divided into electricity and gas customers) by Enel Energia.
Furthermore, also as part of initiatives and programs aimed at improving and maintaining access to electricity, in the case of disasters, both natural and otherwise, Enel intervenes, both in compliance with measures of the competent bodies (civil defense, national and local government) and spontaneously in accordance with “common sense” and its commitment to being a “good citizen” in the local communities where the Group operates. In most cases, this involves temporarily suspending payment deadlines, since it has no other instruments it could adopt considering the repercussions on the other companies involved (for example, the distribution companies).
During 2010 Enel established rates reductions and payment facilitations – in keeping with the provisions of government measures – for the people in Abruzzo who were hit by the earthquake in 2009 and temporarily suspended payment deadlines for the people hit by the flood in the Veneto region, the landslides in Sicily and Calabria, and the families involved in the Viareggio railroad disaster.
In Spain, the government implemented an initiative similar to the social bonus (the Bono Social), when continued in 2010. Electricity prices were frozen at the rates on June 30, 2009, so that the customers who benefitted from it avoided the price increase in the last 18 months.
The people who received the bonus were customers with a power consumption of less than 3 kW, retired people, families whose working-age members are all unemployed, and large families. At the end of 2010 the number of customers who benefitted from the Bono Social totaled 1,076,677.
In Argentina, the Group companies handled the need for access to electricity both directly, through rural electrification projects, and indirectly, through facilitations that provide for financing connection costs (infrastructure construction and adaptation) by gradually reimbursing the sums directly on the customer’s bills. Installment payment plans are also provided for insolvent customers.
In Brazil, low-income household and rural customers benefit from reductions of up to 65% of the official rates thanks to the federal government’s social rates programs.
Access to the program is limited to customers recorded in the federal government’s unified register for social programs and those who enjoy continuous cash benefits as elderly or disabled people whose income is less than ¼ of the minimum wage. Additional benefits are also provided for indigenous people, who are entitled to larger discounts. In 2010 1,704,680 customers benefitted from the program in Coelce’s area and 689,657 customers in Ampla’s.
In Romania, customers considered “vulnerable” (people who are elderly, have health problems, or live in socially disadvantaged conditions) benefit from facilitations in their electricity supply if so decided by the national or local government. The Enel Group companies contribute financially for these customers, in accordance with the law, and offer services that are free of charge (such as meter and electricity-system checks) or with extendible payment (such as installations).
Furthermore, thanks to the adoption of electronic meters, in most case of disconnection for failure to pay in Italy customers are not completely deprived of electricity, but the available power is reduced to 15% of the contracted one. This allows essential services (lighting, refrigerators) to be supplied with power until the arrears are paid.
For detailed information on disconnected customers see the tables on page 284 at the end of this Report.