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Evidence CategoryIberdrola or Avangrid SubsidiarySummarySourceYearLink to EvidenceExcerpts
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PROFITS OVER PEOPLE: Billing Disasters & Harrassment
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Lowest customer satisfaction rankings in NortheastCentral Maine Power, NYSEG, RG&E and United IlluminatingAvangrid utility CMP in Maine has ranked last among all comparable utilities in the nation in JD Powers’ customer satisfaction surveys for four times in a row (128th among the 128 investor-owned utilities in the nation). Two of Avangrid’s other utilities ranked near the bottom in surveys (New York’s 17th out of 18 in the region; Connecticut’s 11th out of 12).JD Powers Electric Annual Utility Customer Satisfaction Survey2019-2022https://news.yahoo.com/cmp-versant-both-score-last-173500585.html, https://www.jdpower.com/business/press-releases/2022-electric-utility-residential-customer-satisfaction-study
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Mishandled billing, debt, stress, harrassmentScottish PowerScottish Power saddles man with £3,000 debt that isn't hisNews Video2022https://www.express.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/1605845/Scottish-Power-debt-rip-off-Britain-"On Rip Off Britain today, presenter Angela Rippon spoke to Dave Spragg, who had been left with a £3,000 debt that was not his own. With sky high energy prices and rising inflation, paying bills can already put a lot of strain on one’s finances, so when Dave started receiving energy bills for an address that was not his, he did not know what to do. The energy bills he received came from Scottish Power, despite him being with a completely different provider."
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overcharging, harrassment of solar usersScottish PowerScots family sent £12,000 Scottish Power bill despite solar panels on council homeNews Article2023https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/scots-family-sent-12000-scottish-29163920"A family facing an electricity bill of nearly £12,000 from Scottish Power are demanding answers about why they are being charged as much as £1500 per month for electricity. The couple, who live in Avonbridge with their two children, say they don't accept that they can possibly be using an average of £500 electricity every month to provide heating and hot water for their modest council house. The couple's records show that one monthly bill was £1500, with others at £777 and £550. On first moving into the house, the couple were told by Falkirk Council that the house uses a Thermaflow boiler, which provides heating and hot water. The couple thought it was a new boiler and did not anticipate any problems. What they didn't know, however, was that just two months earlier a group of tenants with the same heating system had met with Scottish Power and Falkirk Council, demanding to know why their bills had suddenly gone up by 300 per cent."
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billing issuesNYSEG/ RG&E Testimony Video Clips of Audio Video testimony from NY public forum about RG&E and NYSEG billing issues.Video complaints NY DPS forum2023 https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/snosbo5ox80f5ur2pyut5/h?dl=0&rlkey=47in8nzgw8aj0oao3r07y8dkb
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Bill increasesUnited Illuminating - ConneticutUnited Illuminating Seeks to add an extra $85 to the average residential customer's monthly bill, or a 48 percent increase. If approved, the prices would run from January to June.News Article2022https://www.ctinsider.com/business/article/Eversource-CT-Avangrid-bill-increase-17592520.php“This is a massive increase that will be unaffordable for many Connecticut families and businesses," Attorney General William Tong said in a statement. "We pay far too much for our energy in Connecticut as it is, and these winter rates are nothing short of punishing. My office has intervened on behalf of consumers at each and every rate case before the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission because we know how much the cost of energy impacts family budgets. We have next to no ability to challenge these supply rates, which is frustrating."
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Bill increases, outages, overcharging, service issuesCentral Maine PowerVideo of public comment regarding Central Maine Power rates, service and reliability issues.Raw complaints2007-2022https://docs.google.com/document/d/1DTj7X-naq28khfP4S7TnQoMpIsrpyRFFxLab2uGHRcI/edit
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OverchargingScottish Power"I was terrified after being threatened by bailiffs over £9,200 energy debt – but Scottish Power owed me £500 instead"News Article2023https://www.thesun.co.uk/money/21304984/hreatened-bailiffs-energy-debt-scottish-power-credit/"Adam has received countless texts, letters, and calls from Scottish Power telling him he owes thousands, but he doesn't. Instead, it's down to a billing blunder that started in 2018, which surveyor Adam, 46, from Worcestershire, has spent years trying to resolve.

"It’s been daily torture getting emails texts and phone calls every day from Scottish Power," Adam told The Sun."I’m paranoid bailiffs are going to start knocking on my door. "We’ve had to make sure all our gates and doors are all locked, we’ve been prisoners in our own home."
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Overcharging, billing problemsScottish Power"I’ve been trying for months to get Scottish Power to disconnect my gas. I replaced my gas boiler with an electric one, but am still having to pay standing charge"Guardian advice column2022https://www.theguardian.com/money/2022/apr/14/ive-been-trying-for-months-to-get-scottish-power-to-disconnect-my-gas"Your email trail with Scottish Power records staggering incompetence."
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False billing of non-customersScottish Power"Scottish Power accused of ‘cruel’ harassment of householders over debts of up to £7000 that they don’t owe. Its ‘chaotic’ accounting system is sending out bills and bailiff threats to non-customers"News Article 2020https://www.theguardian.com/money/2020/mar/01/scottish-power-bills-bailiffs-accounting-chaos"Pensioner Brenda Fuller* was hounded for eight years by letters addressed to a stranger demanding £7,000, although she has been supplied by British Gas for the 40 years she has lived at her home. The Energy Ombudsman upheld her complaint and ordered Scottish Power to cease all contact. Within months another £7,000 bill arrived with threats of bailiffs if she didn’t pay and she feared even leaving her house.

Paul Walsh was doorstepped by debt collectors acting for Scottish Power after he’d spent a year contesting bills for an account that wasn’t his.

Emma Gillard* and her partner tried for four years to persuade Scottish Power they had never been customers. The company continued to demand sums of up to £12,000 in letters addressed first to “The Occupier” and then, after they had identified themselves in their complaints, in each of their names. Eventually, it conceded an error, only to send debt collectors to their door six months later with a bill for £10,000"
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False billing of non-customersScottish Power"Scots pensioner has £22k Scottish Power bill scrapped and receives £2,500 refund"News Article2021https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/scots-pensioner-charged-22k-scottish-23943338"A Dumfries pensioner is celebrating after electricity giant Scottish Power scrapped the £22,000 bill they said he owed – and actually refunded him more than £2,500. Retired marine engineer Bill Glasson said he got the shock of his life when he was hit with three electricity bills for more than £22,000 each within the space of a week."
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Aggressive debt collection practicesScottish Power"Scottish Power probe into claims of 'aggressive' energy debt tactics"News Article2021https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-59707817"A whistleblower claims call handlers working on behalf of Scottish Power are told to threaten customers with debt enforcement - even over mistaken bills. The man, an employee of an outsourced company, works in a call centre in the west of Scotland dealing with people who call to query outstanding balances. He said colleagues had also raised concerns over aggressive tactics."
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Aggressive debt collection practicesScottish Power"Woman 'harassed' by power firm over false debt"News Article2021https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-59690022"A woman has described her "living hell" as she was pursued over mistaken bills by Scottish Power. Irene Girvan, from Glasgow, claimed the energy giant hounded her over money she insists she did not owe. The 64-year-old told BBC Scotland she was threatened with debt collectors and missed a Covid booster jab waiting for enforcement officers she believed were coming to change her locks."
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Billing problemsScottish Power"Scottish Power billing fiasco: here are some of the firm's unbelievable blunders"News Article2016https://www.telegraph.co.uk/bills-and-utilities/gas-electric/scottish-power-billing-fiasco-here-are-some-of-the-firms-unbelie/"Energy firm Scottish Power has been fined £18million after an investigation by Ofgem, the energy regulator, found it "failed to treat customers fairly" when dealing with calls, billing issues and complaints. Telegraph Money first highlighted the giant firm's billing chaos in late December, when we asked if Scottish Power was "the new nPower" - Britain's worst business for service and accuracy of billing. And in the months that followed, readers' feedback suggested it was as bad if not worse than its rival. Huge bills, often months or years late and wildly inaccurate, were only one aspect of Scottish Power's incredible litany of bungles. The firm sent threatening letters and meter-reading requests even when customers had repeatedly pointed out mistakes. In one case, a reader spent several months trying to persuade the firm that he was not dead. Nor has there been obvious improvement over the years. Earlier this month, we detailed how one reader received a bill for £50,489.61 from the energy firm after a glitch led to “round the clock” billing."
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Billing problemsScottish Power"Scottish Power has plunged me into a Mad Hatter world"News opinion piece - first person account2015https://www.theguardian.com/money/2015/apr/25/scottish-power-final-bills-errors-computer"It seemed a simple enough proposition: to change my electricity supplier at the end of the fixed-term contract. But, more than six months later, I’m still trying to extricate myself from Scottish Power. I found a new supplier quickly enough. Then, between the change-over date in September and the end of November, I received 10 bills from Scottish Power. Three were emailed on the same day. All different. All wrong. Some were stamped “actual readings” when, further down, the figures were labelled as “estimated”. They covered a mixture of periods – mostly ending in May or August. The bill up to the actual change-over date professed to be the final electricity bill, but quoted estimated readings."
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Billing problems/investigationNYSEG Capital Region NYSEG customers react to massive bills amid NYS DPS investigationNews Video2023https://www.news10.com/news/local-news/capital-region-nyseg-customers-react-to-massive-bills-amid-nys-dps-investigation/"Leslie Swedish of Stillwater says it’s never been smooth sailing as a New York State Electric and Gas customer. She says every year the company hits her with a higher-than-usual bill around January.

“They always say the reason is they underestimated something about the rate or the usage and didn’t charge us enough throughout the year, so they have to make up the difference,” Swedish explains to NEWS10’s Mikhaela Singleton.

However, when she was hit with two bills in one month totaling more than $6,500 — shock just doesn’t cover it."
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Billing problems/investigationNYSEGPublic Service Commission holds forum for distressed NYSEG customers facing billing issuesNews Video2023https://cnycentral.com/news/local/public-service-commission-holds-forum-for-distressed-nyseg-customers-facing-billing-issues"Customers of New York State Electric and Gas (NYSEG) continue to complain about the utility company's billing system. The New York Public Service Commission held a virtual forum Tuesday for concerned customers. The commission listened to customers' concerns for over two hours. Of the complaints, most fell into one of two categories: billing concerns and challenges communicating with the utility company."
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Billing problems/investigationRG&EAs RG&E billing issues persist, customers demand answersNews Video2022https://www.rochesterfirst.com/rochester-gas-and-electric/rge-billing-issues-persist-customers-demand-answers/"Customers say bills are way higher than normal this year. There are also instances where people will get charged nothing for months, then get a huge bill down the road. City resident Jennifer LaRocco says she’s been billed consistently month to month, but is seeing delivery charges four times higher than the usual amount, and overall bills about five times higher than they usually are."
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Billing problems/investigationNYSEG/RG&ENY expands investigation into NYSEG, RG&E billing errorsNews Article2022https://auburnpub.com/news/local/ny-expands-investigation-into-nyseg-rg-e-billing-errors/article_b9927395-df75-5fd5-9a49-5a33d783ec61.html"The state Department of Public Service is expanding its investigation into two utilities after a 60% spike in the number of complaints against the companies this year. The inquiry is focused on billing errors by New York State Electric and Gas and Rochester Gas & Electric, which are subsidiaries of AVANGRID. According to the department, the investigation began after NYSEG and RG&E changed its customer information and billing system. Scores of consumers have complained about incorrect or late bills. The department said that complaints against NYSEG and RG&E total more than 4,700 this year, a 60% increase compared to the last two years combined."
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Billing issuesCentral Maine PowerPOWER STRUGGLES | Customers make CMP recommendations to lower bills but see no resultsNews Video2019https://www.newscentermaine.com/article/news/local/power-struggle-customers-make-cmp-recommendations-to-lower-bills-but-see-no-results/97-ce1e2880-4cd5-4327-b752-7bce41ce32b3"Thousands of Central Maine Power customers have filed complaints about their high electricity bills. Customers we spoke to say they made CMP’s recommended energy efficiency changes, but their bills stayed high. ”I couldn’t even fathom why – what was going on,” said Perkins.
Perkins is a stay-at-home mother of five. She said normally, her bills were around $250 per month, until about a year ago, when her costs more than doubled.
“That’s where it kind of put me over the edge and I was like, ‘What’s going on? Why is this happening?’“ said Perkins. “I don’t think your car payment should ever be lower than your electricity bill. That’s crazy.”
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BillingScottish Power TikTok videos of Scottish Power complaintsTik Tok Videos2022https://www.tiktok.com/discover/scottish-power-complaints
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BillingRG&ERG&E written complaints compiled by Metro JusticeWritten testimonials2022-2023https://www.metrojustice.org/rge_stories
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BillingScottish PowerScottish Power Reddit complaintsWritten complaints2023https://www.reddit.com/r/Scotland/comments/10gwnpy/i_want_to_give_my_experience_from_start_to_finish/
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aggressive debt collectiion through forcible installation of prepayment metersScottish PowerUK energy firms forcibly installed 94,000 prepayment meters last year.
Scottish Power, British Gas and Ovo responsible for 70% of forced installations, government says		News Article2023https://www.theguardian.com/business/2023/mar/27/uk-energy-firms-forcibly-installed-prepayment-meterss"UK energy companies forcibly installed 94,000 prepayment meters using warrants in 2022, with Scottish Power and British Gas ordering the most, according to government data." "Three companies were responsible for 70% of all forced installations, the government said, describing them as “the most overzealous suppliers”. They were Scottish Power, which is owned by Spain’s Iberdrola; British Gas, part of the FTSE 100 firm Centrica; and Ovo, which took over SSE’s home energy business in 2019.

Scottish Power was “the worst offender when taking into account their customer base” with 24,300 installations, the government said. That represented more than 500 installations per 100,000 meter points."

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Billing problemsScottish PowerStruggling dad-of-four slams Scottish Power after getting £1,000-per-month billNews Article2022https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/struggling-dad-four-slams-scottish-28682012"The 43-year-old father who lives in Derbyshire has reduced his heating use, despite the wintry weather and as a result, his amputee mum got ill and needed to stay in hospital. A dad has criticised Scottish Power after the firm landed him with an energy bill in excess of £7,000 for seven months of heating and powering his modest semi-detached home. Imran Zafar says he cannot afford the bill of £7,443.21 and does not believe it is accurate. The 43-year-old has reduced his heating use, despite the wintry weather and as a result, his amputee mum got ill and needed to stay in hospital. Speaking to Derbyshire Live, the dad-of-four says he now only has the heating on four three hours a day. In fact, his heating use is so low that his house is "cold and damp" and his kids are also vulnerable to health issues. He said: "I just feel let down. It's caused a lot of stress considering I've got little children and vulnerable parents."
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Billing issuesRG&E and NYSEGIn light of numerous billing issues at NYSEG and RG&E, 32 state lawmakers urge governor to reject rate increasesNews Article 2023https://ithacavoice.org/2023/04/in-light-of-numerous-billing-issues-at-nyseg-and-rge-32-state-lawmakers-urge-governor-to-reject-rate-increases/"The letter cites that NYSEG and RG&E saw over 4,700 complaints related to late and incorrect uitiliy bills in 2022, marking more than a 60% increase in complaints from the prior two years combined. One particularly egregious example of a billing mistake noted in the letter resulted in a residential customer of one of the utility companies being asked to pay $68,000."
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PROFITS OVER PEOPLE: Rate increases
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Rate increasesNYSEG/RG&ENYSEG, RG&E request 13-22% rate hike; Gov. Hochul respondsNews Article 2022https://spectrumlocalnews.com/nys/rochester/news/2022/05/27/nyseg--rg-e-request-13-22--rate-hike--gov--hochul-respondss"NYSEG and RG&E are asking for the state to approve a rate hike in the range of 13-22% on customers' bills. Avangrid, the owner of the two companies, says the increase is needed to replace aging infrastructure.

Customers would see their rates go up by $10-$18 on their bills if the rate hike is approved. The company says it would also use the increased revenue to transition to more clean energy sources. The rate increase would impact 1.2 million customers. The New York State Department of Public Service is currently reviewing the request. Gov. Kathy Hochul slammed the request. She issued the following response Thursday:

"It's outrageous and unacceptable that utility companies are proposing the largest rate increase in recent history for more than 1.2 million consumers in Upstate New York. The Department of Public Service is legally required to review all proposed rate increases, and I urge them to scrutinize every number and word of this proposal to protect New York families from unjustified and unfair rate increases. At a time when so many families are struggling because of global economic headwinds and nationwide inflation, I will keep fighting to get money back in the pockets of New Yorkers by accelerating middle-class tax cuts, giving consumers a gas tax holiday that begins next week, and providing rent and utility relief to hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers."
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Rate increasesNYSEG/RG&EGov. Hochul slams RG&E’s proposed rate hike, 13-22% increase for each monthly billNews Video2022https://www.rochesterfirst.com/rochester-gas-and-electric/gov-hochul-criticizes-rges-plans-to-raise-customers-utility-rates//"Gov. Kathy Hochul issued a statement Thursday criticizing Rochester Gas and Electric (RG&E) for planning to raise the utility rates.

According to officials from the governor’s office, RG&E plans to raise electric rates by 31% and gas rates by 20.9%.
“It’s outrageous and unacceptable that utility companies are proposing the largest rate increase in recent history for more than 1.2 million consumers in Upstate New York,” Gov. Hochul said in part. “The Department of Public Service is legally required to review all proposed rate increases, and I urge them to scrutinize every number and word of this proposal to protect New York families from unjustified and unfair rate increases."
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Rate increasesNYSEG/RG&ENYSEG rate hike proposal would add $15 to $18 a month to customer billsNews Article 2022https://buffalonews.com/business/local/nyseg-rate-hike-proposal-would-add-15-to-18-a-month-to-customer-bills/article_676af530-e679-11ec-99c7-cfe663e375da.htmlGov. Kathy Hochul blasted the proposed increases.

"It's outrageous and unacceptable that utility companies are proposing the largest rate increase in recent history for more than 1.2 million consumers in upstate New York," Hochul said in a statement. "The Department of Public Service is legally required to review all proposed rate increases, and I urge them to scrutinize every number and word of this proposal to protect New York families from unjustified and unfair rate increases."
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Rate increasesUnited Illuminating - ConneticutAs Energy Prices Soar, Avangrid Places Blame on Companies Generating the ElectricityNews Article 2022https://ctexaminer.com/2022/12/02/as-energy-prices-soar-avangrid-places-blame-on-companies-generating-the-electricity//"High electric bills have become a fact of life for Connecticut residents, who paid the highest bills in the country outside of Hawaii in 2021, and combined with lingering frustrations over lengthy power outages after recent damaging storms, so is outright public anger at United Illuminating and Eversource.

It was no surprise then, that announcements that electric bills would rise between 40 and 50 percent in January would spark a fresh wave of outrage from Connecticut’s electric customers. And explanations from the companies and state officials that the hikes are simply passing along the high cost of buying energy haven’t placated customer anger towards the companies."
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Rate increasesCentral Maine PowerPower supply rates for most CMP customers to rise again in 2023News Article 2022https://www.centralmaine.com/2022/11/16/power-supply-rates-for-most-cmp-customers-to-rise-again-in-2023/"For a second year in a row, most customers of Central Maine Power will see their electricity supply rates rise in 2023, reflecting a trend driven largely by the high cost of natural gas that fuels many power plants in New England.

Beginning on Jan. 1, new “standard offer” supply rates for home and small business customers in CMP’s service area will rise from 11.8 cents per kilowatt hour to 17.6 cents, a 49% hike."
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Rate increasesNYSEG/RG&EConsumer advocates and environmentalists try to block RG&E, NYSEG rate increasesNews Article 2023https://www.wxxinews.org/local-news/2023-03-02/consumer-and-environmental-groups-file-motion-to-dismiss-rg-e-and-nyseg-rate-cases"Several consumer and environmental advocacy organizations have filed a motion seeking dismissal of rate increases requested by Rochester Gas & Electric and New York State Electric and Gas.

The motion was filed with the New York Public Service Commission by groups including the Public Utility Law Project, Alliance for a Green Economy, Climate Solutions Accelerator of the Genesee-Finger Lakes Region, Fossil Free Tompkins and the AARP of New York.

They claim that the filing for the double digit rate hikes by RG&E and NYSEG, which are both part of the company Avangrid, are legally deficient and riddled with errors."
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Rate increasesCentral Maine PowerCMP parent company’s net profits grew 25% last year as Maine power bills spikedNews Article 2023https://mainebeacon.com/cmp-parent-companys-net-profits-grew-25-last-year-as-maine-power-bills-spiked/"Avangrid, the parent company of Central Maine Power (CMP), reported Wednesday that it took in a net income of $881 million in 2022. That sum comes as CMP has requested a distribution-side rate increase — all while many Mainers have struggled to afford the cost of power in recent years.

Avangrid increased its net income by 25% in 2022 over the $707 million it made in 2021, according to Wednesday’s financial report. The company made an adjusted net income of $901 million last year, 16% more than in 2021.

An energy company controlled by Iberdrola, a Spanish multinational group, Avangrid has holdings in 24 states. That includes being the parent company of CMP, Maine’s largest utility. CMP has been dogged by repeated last-place rankings in customer satisfaction among similar sized utilities and the company faces a referendum this November spearheaded by the group Our Power over whether it and fellow investor-owned utility Versant will be allowed to continue operating in Maine.

Avangrid’s profits last year came amid rate hikes for Mainers, with some people experiencing a monthly bill that increased by hundreds of dollars."
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Rate increases, and also overview of all the Avangrid issuesUnited Illuminating - ConneticutBeware the Desperate Utility CompanyOp-ed2023https://ctnewsjunkie.com/2023/01/03/op-ed-beware-the-desperate-utility-company/"On the Friday before Christmas, while families in Connecticut were dealing with the first major storm of the winter season, United Illuminating’s President & CEO published an op-ed blaming power plant operators and an “irrevocably broken” electricity market for rising rates. As the head of the organization that represents those plants, I feel compelled to set the record straight.

United Illuminating is owned by Avangrid, which in turn is owned by Iberdrola, the behemoth utility conglomerate headquartered in Spain. UI, Avangrid, and apparently Iberdrola, are playing a duplicitous game that should leave no one amused.

In recent years, Avangrid has been failing in everything from cost controls and budget management to project execution, storm response, and customer service. These shortcomings have resulted in millions of dollars in fines and apparently prompting them to lash out. This utility company looks desperate, and its claims would be laughable if they were not also dishonest and misleading."
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Rate increasesCentral Maine PowerCMP's request to hike electricity rates leads to questions, concernsNews Article 2022https://www.mainebiz.biz/article/cmps-request-to-hike-electricity-rates-leads-to-questions-concernss"Central Maine Power Co.’s request to increase its distribution rate by 30% is drawing ire from state politicians and consumer advocates.
“CMP pursuing this filing at this time is not in the best interests of Maine people, and we oppose it,” Gov. Janet Mills said in a news release Thursday.
Public Advocate William Harwood said his office will oppose the request.
“At a time when Maine consumers are struggling with rising costs, a proposed CMP rate increase of 30% will add to their financial misery,” Harwood said in a separate release.
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Rate IncreasesUnited Illuminating - ConneticutRate increases up to 106% planned in Connecticut while Avangrid profits soar.News Article 2023https://enact-systems.com/eversource-and-united-illuminating-increasing-supply-rates//"Currently, 90% of Eversource customers and 83% of UI customers are on a standard rate. For these customers, electricity rates will increase by 100.59% and 106.59%, respectively, compared to rates from July 1 to December 31, 2022. The revised tariff will increase the electricity bills by 110% and 105.56% for consumers. This is in comparison to last winter’s standard tariffs."
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Rate IncreasesRG&E and NYSEGIn light of numerous billing issues at NYSEG and RG&E, 32 state lawmakers urge governor to reject rate increasesNews Article 2023https://ithacavoice.org/2023/04/in-light-of-numerous-billing-issues-at-nyseg-and-rge-32-state-lawmakers-urge-governor-to-reject-rate-increases/"The letter cites that NYSEG and RG&E saw over 4,700 complaints related to late and incorrect uitiliy bills in 2022, marking more than a 60% increase in complaints from the prior two years combined. One particularly egregious example of a billing mistake noted in the letter resulted in a residential customer of one of the utility companies being asked to pay $68,000."
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PROFITS OVER PEOPLE: Dangerous Unreliability
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Blackouts, stress, uncertainty, risk and danger from service interruptions, failure to respond to weather induced outagesScottish PowerScottish Power fiasco as family left without power for three days as temperatures plungeNews Article2023https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/1744706/Scottish-Power-row-smart-meter-energy-issues-"Lisa-Marie Briggs' gas went off on Sunday despite her being in credit. Her mart meter was swapped the next day but, just 24 hours later, the mum lost her electricity too. Despite arranging to come out four times, Scottish Power failed to turn up by Wednesday evening. It left Freya, eight, and six-year-old Daniel and their mum struggling in the dark and cold at their home in Middlesbrough, Teesside. Speaking to Teesside Live, Lisa-Marie said: "It has been an absolute nightmare. I can't believe this is happening. My youngest was asking me to turn the lights on because he was frightened of the dark and I had to say I couldn't.""
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Fines for reliability violations in Maine and New York.Avangrid (Maine & NY)CMP parent company fined $450,000 for admitted reliability violationsNews Article2019https://www.newscentermaine.com/article/money/consumer/cmp-parent-company-fined-450000-for-admitted-reliability-violations/97-fcf1c51b-28b4-4950-acde-136136cd3f85" Avangrid, the parent company of Central Maine Power (CMP), has been fined $450,000 for failing to meet certain reliability standards set forth by the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC). NERC has now filed a Notice of Penalty because Avangrid has entered into a settlement agreement with the Northeast Power Coordinating Council. CMP, New York State Electric and Gas Corporation (NYSEG), and Rochester Gas and Electric Corporation (RG&E) have all been notified of the penalty. They are all subsidiaries of Avangrid Networks, Inc., a utility subsidiary of AVANGRID, Inc. that owns eight electricity, natural gas, or combination utilities in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, and New York. According to the NERC's report, Avangrid collectively serves over 2.2 million electricity customers.
CMP's violations occurred January 11, 2019, when a data entry error interrupted connectivity and resulted in the failure of CMP's Emergency Management System (EMS) capabilities. Although a system operator did immediately notice the failure and communicated it to both a supervisor and EMS technicians, the reliability coordinator was not notified. Notifying the reliability coordinator is required by reliability standards, and by the time CMP notified its reliability coordinator, which is ISO New England, the monitoring and assessment capabilities had returned.
Utilities must conduct real-time assessments every 30 minutes, but in CMP's case, 1 hour and 17 minutes passed before monitoring and assessment capabilities returned."

The violations involving NYSEG and RG&E were more drastic. In their cases, 9 hours and 20 minutes elapsed before a real-time assessment was performed in an incident that occurred on November 27, 2017.
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Many of these are service and reliability issues including outages and billing problemsCentral Maine PowerPublic comment regarding unreliability at Central Maine Power.Raw complaints2007-2022https://docs.google.com/document/d/1DTj7X-naq28khfP4S7TnQoMpIsrpyRFFxLab2uGHRcI/edit
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PROFITS OVER PEOPLE: Public outrage and calls for change
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labor protesting avangrid, the public protesting avangrid, bad actors, bad for Scottland, bad for NMScottish PowerCampaigners and unions in Scottish Power energy protest (news video)News Article2022https://www.heraldscotland.com/politics/22966316.campaigners-unions-scottish-power-energy-"Campaigners and unions gathered at the headquarters of Scottish Power in Glasgow as part of ongoing protests against rising prices. The energy cap is set to rise once again on October 1 to take the average energy bill to around £2,500 per year. While there are cost of living measures in place to try and mitigate the impact, with £400 to be taken off bills, prices will still be twice as high as last year."
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calls for public power because of profiteeringScottish PowerAs customer’s bills doubled, Scottish Power’s sent dividend payments to Iberdrola of nearly one billion pounds and executive pay soared from £200,000 to £1.35m. "UK union leader says 'eyewatering' £7bn ScottishPower dividends helps prove need for energy renationalisation"News Article2022https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/homenews/22639464.uk-union-leader-says-eyewatering-7bn-scottishpower-dividends-helps-prove-need-energy-renationalisation/"Ms Graham told the Herald: "The figures around Scottish Power are eyewatering. When you talk about the £7bn that has gone out the Scottish economy in dividends to shareholders in Spain, that is the trickle down economics Liz Truss is talking about, but it did not trickle down to Scotland."

She added: “These figures exposing rampant profiteering, on their own, practically establish the need for the re-nationalisation of energy. A windfall tax might do something for a moment in time. But in the long term, it’s clear that piecemeal action will not solve the scale of these problems. Sooner or later Labour will have to back taking the energy giants back into public ownership. Better sooner, because privatisation has ended in tears for almost all of us.” It came after the Herald on Sunday revealed that while ScottishPower has been pushing for a taxpayer-backed £100bn fund to help energy firms freeze energy bills, and has eventually been adopted by Liz Truss, it has handed over nearly £7bn in dividends to its foreign owners since being taken over.

The payout bonanza to its Spanish owners, Iberdrola over its 14 years of control of the Glasgow-based company has been revealed as its high profile chief executive Keith Anderson has seen his pay soar by £200,000 to £1.35m in a year. Six years ago, Scottish Power Limited's highest paid director was getting almost half that at £687,000.
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calls for public power because of billing problemsRG&E"Customers blast RG&E, call on county to take action for public utility"News Video2023https://www.rochesterfirst.com/rochester-gas-and-electric/customers-blast-rge-call-on-county-to-take-action-for-public-utility/"At the Monroe County Legislature meeting Tuesday, dozens of frustrated RG&E customers attended and let their voices be heard, calling for the establishment of a public utility company. For a year now, News 8 has been bringing you the stories of customers with high bills and billing irregularities. Mohini Sharma is the organizing director for Metro Justice, an organization advocating for a public takeover of utilities. She said the demand is immensely popular. “Residents want to see our elected representatives from the county actually do something about the RG&E crisis,” said Sharma." Sharma said they want the legislature to fund a $1 million implementation study. Speakers did not hold back on RG&E during public comments. “RG&E’s infrastructure is unethical and broken. The evidence is in their incompetent management, billing errors, poor customer service,” said one customer. “I’ve seen my rates double in the past year. And I can’t even trust that that is due to increased usage,” said another customer.
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calls for public power because of billing problemsRG&ECommunity groups call for public energy utility instead of RG&ENews Video2023https://www.rochesterfirst.com/rochester-gas-and-electric/community-groups-call-for-public-energy-utility-instead-of-rge/"Metro Justice and the Rochester For Energy Democracy Coalition Partners held a public meeting Monday night to discuss what they call RG&E’s lack of transparency with customers. News 8 has been reporting on consumers’ bills that they say are seemingly overpriced, miscorrected, and more. The organizations say creating a public utility in RG&E’s place would help ease these costs. The advocates also claim Rochester Mayor Malik Evans has been refusing to hold the energy company accountable, and that he refuses to acknowledge the idea of creating a public utility."
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calls for public power because of service and billing issuesCentral Maine PowerAdvocates push public power in Maine as NY probes utilities owned by CMP parent companyNews Article2023https://wgme.com/news/i-team/advocates-push-public-power-maine-new-york-probes-utilities-owned-cmp-parent-company-avangrid-central-maine-power"Three years after Central Maine Power was hit with a $10 million penalty for billing errors and poor customer service, two utilities in New York owned by CMP's parent company are now under investigation for similar complaints. Just like in Maine, the frustration has some calling for change and pushing for a public takeover."
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calls for public power because of service and billing issuesRG&ERochester mayor, council members call on state to fund public utility studyNews Article 2023https://www.wxxinews.org/local-news/2023-03-24/rochester-mayor-council-public-utility-rge"Mayor Malik Evans and the Rochester City Council are calling on state utilities regulators to investigate Rochester Gas & Electric’s “commitment to Rochester.”

They’re also asking the state to fund a study of what it would take to replace Rochester Gas & Electric with a public utility.

The demand follows months of public outcry from activists and residents regarding billing issues and erratic customer service. The advocacy group Metro Justice has/ called for the city to put up $500,000 towards the study, which would determine whether the city of Rochester could cut ties with RG&E and build a public utility. The group also called on the Monroe County Legislature to allocate $1 million for the study.

“Our community is being failed by RG&E,” Evans said, in the letter. “Please recognize that we are in a crisis. This frustration is not fleeting — RG&E has been divesting in our community for a long time. We need the PSC’s assistance and expertise to review their performance and to consider funding a study into moving away from RG&E in the near future.”

Over the past couple months, residents have flooded meetings of City Council and the Monroe County Legislature and complained about poor customer service and bills with unexpectedly high charges, some reaching a few thousand dollars."
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calls for public power because of profiteeringIberdrola/AvangridPrivate Utility Monopolies Serve Shareholder Profits. Let’s Make Power Public.
It’s about time we began building the political will to make power public		Opinion Piece2020https://truthout.org/articles/private-utility-monopolies-serve-shareholder-profits-lets-make-power-public/"Rochester Gas and Electric (RG&E) and its sister company New York State Electric and Gas (NYSEG) are investor-owned utilities: private corporations that generate or purchase electricity which is distributed to customers within a monopolized service area. While they are local brands, RG&E and NYSEG, which serve around 1.3 million customers in upstate New York, are privately owned subsidiaries of Avangrid, which is itself the North American subsidiary of the $68 billion multinational Iberdrola, based in Spain.

Who owns Iberdrola? Its top two shareholders are the sovereign wealth fund of the oil kingdom of Qatar — where fossil fuel revenues account for more than 70 percent of government revenue — and BlackRock — the largest of the world’s multinational shadow banks, through which the global 1 percent hide their money from regulators through speculative investments. BlackRock, which manages assets valued at more than a third of the U.S. gross domestic product, is a prime example of the secretive financial institutions that have taken control of an enormous share of our economy in order to further enrich the ultra-rich."
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GASLIGHTING AND GREENWASHING ON CLIMATE
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Report finds Avangrid most active company in opposing climate legislation in Connecticut.http://www.climatedevlab.brown.edu/home/whos-holding-back-progress-on-climate-solutions-in-the-connecticut-legislature
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Avangrid behind misinformation campaigns in New York to stymie climate legislation.https://www.energyandpolicy.org/new-yorkers-for-affordable-energy/
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Avangrid blocking interconnectionCentral Maine PowerFinal order2022https://docs.google.com/document/d/16nl0y6N8uDNyemNCgJ9QglVsQ-DzRaTOvjy18Xfqok4/edit?usp=sharing
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net metering profiteering, anti-solar lobbyingCentral Maine Power"Lobbying efforts mark Central Maine Power as anti-solar, activists allege"News Article2018https://www.conwaydailysun.com/portland_phoenix/news/lobbying-efforts-mark-central-maine-power-as-anti-solar-activists-allege/article_5ad49eb8-1066-11e8-b939-5fdccbe4105a.html"A group of pro-solar protesters in Maine are alleging that Central Maine Power — the state’s largest provider of electricity with 600,000 customers — is actively trying to hinder the growth of solar power by lobbying to phase out the credit system known as net metering.

Four protesters were arrested for trespassing last month after they occupied space at CMP’s headquarters in Augusta during an effort to “literally and figuratively shine a light on CMP’s efforts to undermine solar power in Maine.”

“CMP really doesn’t want to have this conversation,” said Nathan Broaddus, a member of the group Truth to Central Maine Power, who was at the January 29 protest. “They essentially want to tax the use of solar power. Many people in Maine are concerned about it.”
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investigation of solar interconnection issuesCentral Maine Power"Mills calls for investigation of CMP solar problems"News Article2021https://www.pressherald.com/2021/02/08/mills-calls-on-maine-puc-to-investigate-cmp-solar-snafu/"Gov. Janet Mills on Monday asked the Maine Public Utilities Commission to open an investigation into why Central Maine Power is belatedly telling solar developers that their projects are causing technical problems at substations that in some instances could require multimillion-dollar upgrades.

Mills said she is especially concerned that some solar projects were already built and ready to operate, “and it is deeply regrettable that CMP apparently did not anticipate these issues at the time they entered into these interconnection agreements,” Mills wrote in a letter to PUC Chair Philip Bartlett."
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solar interconnection issues, investigationCentral Maine Power"Solar industry baffled, angry as CMP cites need for costly upgrades"News Article2021https://www.pressherald.com/2021/02/04/maines-solar-industry-baffled-angry-over-cmp-substation-shortfalls/"Maine’s burgeoning solar industry is up in arms, after many developers received emails from Central Maine Power last week indicating that their projects are causing technical problems at substations that could require costly upgrades.

The controversy is erupting as scores of solar developers are building and proposing projects in Maine worth hundreds of millions of dollars."
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ABOVE THE LAW - fines, and sanctions for flouting regulations
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FinesScottish Power"Scottish Power fined £18m for poor customer service that prompted one million complaints"News Article2016https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/scottish-power-fined-ps18m-for-poor-customer-service-that-prompted-one-million-complaints-a7001346.html"Scottish Power has agreed to pay £18 million for failing to treat its customers fairly. The fine – of which up to £15 million will be paid to vulnerable Scottish Power customers and £3 million to charity - is the third biggest penalty given to one of the major six energy providers. It follows an investigation by the industry regulator Ofgem into the firm’s customer service. Scottish Power's call handling, complaint resolution and billing were all below the basic level of standards required, the investigation concluded. The poor service resulted in over 1 million complaints between June 2013 and December 2015."
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Fines Scottish Power"Scottish Power fined £18m for poor customer service"News Article2016https://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/apr/26/scottish-power-fined-18m-pounds-for-poor-customer-service-ofgem"Ofgem has handed out its third biggest fine to one of the big six energy providers after Scottish Power agreed to pay £18m for poor customer service. In a scathing review of the company’s treatment of customers, the regulator said Scottish Power had failed to provide even the basic level of service required, attracting more than one million customer complaints between June 2013 and December 2015. Dermot Nolan, Ofgem’s chief executive, said Scottish Power’s treatment of gas and electricity customers had been “discernibly worse” than its peers."
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FinesCentral Maine Power"Central Maine Power hit with nearly $10M penalty for billing issues, poor customer service"News Video2020https://www.wmtw.com/article/central-maine-power-hit-with-nearly-dollar10m-penalty-for-billing-issues-poor-customer-service/30716514#"The Maine Public Utilities Commission penalized Central Maine Power $10 million as the agency wrapped up its investigation into issues with the company's billing system and customer service issues.

A spokeswoman for CMP said that the company has "lost the trust of our customers, and it will be a long road" to restore that trust."
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Breaking contractsAvangrid - Massachsetts"Avangrid difficulties leaking into new wind procurement"News Article2023https://www.wwlp.com/news/massachusetts/avangrid-difficulties-leaking-into-new-wind-procurement/"Sen. Michael Rodrigues, the Senate Ways and Means Committee chairman who represents a South Coast district, was the only elected official who submitted their own comments to DOER and he said he is “deeply dismayed” by the way that Avangrid is trying to terminate the contracts it agreed to a year ago.

“That’s unacceptable, as no company should be allowed to simply walk away from contracts negotiated and awarded in good faith. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts should not set this kind of precedent,” Rodrigues wrote in the first of two letters he submitted. “More importantly, what kind of message would this send to other companies who play by the rules? Contracts for schools, libraries, courthouses, and highway construction projects all are facing the same fiscal pressures, and they all adhere to a strict set of ground rules, which includes performance of the contracts.”

The senator said he thinks that any company that non-performs on an existing contract should be disqualified and prohibited from bidding on any future projects for Massachusetts.

“When companies do not act in good faith, they should be stricken from future bids, plain and simple,” he wrote."
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FinesUnited Illuminating - ConneticutAvangrid Fined $4.48 Million by State Regulators for Pandemic Debt CollectionsNews Article2022https://www.dropbox.com/s/ygve62lnpqe1041/Avangrid%20Fined%20%244.48%20Million%20by%20State%20R...Collections%20-%20The%20Connecticut%20Examiner.pdf?dl=0"Avangrid, the parent company of electric utility United Illuminating, was fined $4.48 million on Monday by state utility regulators, who concluded that the company’s electric and gas subsidiaries in Connecticut had violated state law by trying to garnish customers’ wages without first informing them of a payment plan.

The decision came out of an eight-month investigation into the collections practices of Connecticut’s major utilities during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, which found that Avangrid – the parent company of United Illuminating, Southern Connecticut Gas and Connecticut Natural Gas – continued to send customers to collections despite a moratorium on utility shutoffs."
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FinesIberdrolaMexican regulator fines Spain's Iberdrola unit $466 mlnNews Article2022https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/mexican-regulator-fines-spains-iberdrola-subsidiary-466-mln-2022-05-27/"Mexico's energy regulator fined a unit of Spain's Iberdrola 9.15 billion pesos ($466.4 million), arguing they violated a so-called self-supply power generation permit by selling electricity to their partners, according to a regulatory filing.

Iberdrola Energia Monterrey delivered energy to partners in exchange for economic compensation, which constitutes a sale that is not allowed under the self-supply figure for which the permit was granted, the Energy Regulatory Commission (CRE) said in the resolution posted on its website this week. "The described conduct is unlawful since it affects the legal rights that oblige the permit holder not to sell, resell or by any legal act transfer capacity or electric energy," the resolution said."
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Breaking contractsAvangrid - MassachsettsSenate leader calls for banning Avangrid from future projectsNews Article2023https://commonwealthmagazine.org/energy/senate-leader-calls-for-banning-avangrid-from-future-projects/"The Senate's top budget official is calling for Avangrid to be banned from bidding on any future projects in the state if it terminates its current offshore wind contract.

Avangrid agreed to the terms of a 20-year power purchase agreement last year and just before it won final regulatory approval the company stepped forward to say the economy had shifted and it needed more money to make the contract to build Commonwealth Wind work. The Department of Public Utilities rejected that bid, and the company subsequently shifted gears and said it wanted to terminate the existing contract and bid in the state’s next procurement."
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Fines, corruptionIberdrolaAMLO investigating judge who granted indefinite suspension of 9.1 billion peso fine to Iberdrola EnergíaNews Article2022https://riviera-maya-news.com/amlo-investigating-judge-who-granted-indefinite-suspension-of-9-1-billion-peso-fine-to-iberdrola-energia/2022.html“Incredible that they grant protection to Iberdrola. They set a fine and immediately the judges protected Iberdrola (…) the investigation is also being carried out because they accepted untimely documentation. We are doing an investigation and if it was so, judges will be denounced and those who have participated,” he said.
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FinesScottish PowerNational Grid, Scottish Power fined $211 mln for subsea cable delayNews Article2021https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/national-grid-scottish-power-pay-211-mln-customers-after-western-link-probe-2021-11-30/"Nov 30 (Reuters) - National Grid and Scottish Power have been fined 158 million pounds ($211 million) by Britain's energy regulator for a two-year delay to the Western Link transporting electricity from Scotland to Wales and England.

Ofgem said on Tuesday the companies had acknowledged that the 1.3 billion pound subsea cable was delivered late.

Ofgem said its investigation, which began in January 2020, found the delay was due to problems with land acquisition, manufacturing, installing the cables and commissioning tests.

It added that delay in construction of the power cable increased costs for consumers as difficulty in transporting energy from Scotland to England and Wales often forced National Grid to reduce output from windfarm generators."
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OrderIberdrolaItaly's antitrust body tells utilities to stop changing contractsNews Article2022https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/italys-antitrust-tells-utilities-stop-changes-contracts-2022-10-28/"Italy's antitrust authority has ordered Spanish utility Iberdrola (IBE.MC) and Germany's E.ON (EONGn.DE) to reinstate the original electricity and gas contracts they had with customers, it said on Friday.

The watchdog also asked Italian utilities Iren (IREE.MI) and Dolomiti to stop what it alleged to be "illegitimate notices" regarding changes to the economic conditions of their offers.

The authority, which opened an inquiry into utilities last week, said that companies must report within five days on the steps they had taken to comply with the precautionary measures."
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FineMaine Natural GasMaine gas utility will be fined $50K for safety problemsNews Article2020https://wgme.com/news/local/maine-gas-utility-will-be-fined-50k-for-safety-problems"Maine regulators are going to fine a gas utility $50,000 for failures to meet safety requirements.

The company, Maine Natural Gas of Brunswick, is a subsidiary of Avangrid, which also owns Central Maine Power. Maine Natural Gas delivers pipeline gas to 4,800 customers in the state.

The Maine Public Utilities Commission’s staff identified quality assurance and quality control lapses starting in 2017, the Portland Press Herald reported. For example, a February 2019 inspection found the company did not follow operations and maintenance requirements to manage active leaks in Augusta and Windham, the commission found."
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FineCentral Maine PowerState jolts CMP with $10 million penalty for mishandling billing and customer serviceNews Article2020https://www.pressherald.com/2020/01/30/state-regulator-slaps-cmp-with-10-million-earnings-reduction/"Gov. Janet Mills called for greater accountability from the state's utilities after the Public Utilities Commission voted to reduce Central Maine Power's earnings as punishment for the problems with its mismanagement of a new billing system."
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FineAvangrid (Maine & NY)CMP parent company fined $450,000 for admitted reliability violationsNews Article2019https://www.newscentermaine.com/article/money/consumer/cmp-parent-company-fined-450000-for-admitted-reliability-violations/97-fcf1c51b-28b4-4950-acde-136136cd3f85" Avangrid, the parent company of Central Maine Power (CMP), has been fined $450,000 for failing to meet certain reliability standards set forth by the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC). NERC has now filed a Notice of Penalty because Avangrid has entered into a settlement agreement with the Northeast Power Coordinating Council. CMP, New York State Electric and Gas Corporation (NYSEG), and Rochester Gas and Electric Corporation (RG&E) have all been notified of the penalty. They are all subsidiaries of Avangrid Networks, Inc., a utility subsidiary of AVANGRID, Inc. that owns eight electricity, natural gas, or combination utilities in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, and New York. According to the NERC's report, Avangrid collectively serves over 2.2 million electricity customers.
CMP's violations occurred January 11, 2019, when a data entry error interrupted connectivity and resulted in the failure of CMP's Emergency Management System (EMS) capabilities. Although a system operator did immediately notice the failure and communicated it to both a supervisor and EMS technicians, the reliability coordinator was not notified. Notifying the reliability coordinator is required by reliability standards, and by the time CMP notified its reliability coordinator, which is ISO New England, the monitoring and assessment capabilities had returned.
Utilities must conduct real-time assessments every 30 minutes, but in CMP's case, 1 hour and 17 minutes passed before monitoring and assessment capabilities returned."

The violations involving NYSEG and RG&E were more drastic. In their cases, 9 hours and 20 minutes elapsed before a real-time assessment was performed in an incident that occurred on November 27, 2017.
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FineRG&E/NYSEGUtility companies dinged for $10M after storm response failuresNews Article2020https://www.news10.com/news/ny-news/utility-companies-dinged-for-10m-after-storm-response-failures/"In the winter and spring of 2018, storms left over 300,000 people without power. The Public Service Commission announced Thursday that the fuel providers for those left in the dark would pay a $10.5 million settlement.

“Utilities have a duty to their customers to be prepared for a storm and to restore power as safely and as quickly as possible,” says Public Service Commission Chair John B. Rhodes in a statement. “Our decision today clearly demonstrates that if the utility fails to do that, the company’s shareholders will be held accountable.”

As part of the terms of the settlement, New York State Electric & Gas admitted to 18 violations of its own emergency response plans. Rochester Gas and Electric admitted to three violations.

In the biggest penalty ever paid for failure to follow state-approved emergency response plans, NYSEG and RG&E will pay out the affected customers in their territories from shareholder funds. Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo first proposed the $10.5 million figure in December."
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FineUnited Illuminating - ConneticutMaximum $30 mln fines for Conn. utilities over poor Isaias responseNews Article2021https://www.reuters.com/legal/litigation/maximum-30-mln-fines-conn-utilities-over-poor-isaias-response-2021-07-15/"Connecticut's power regulator on Wednesday imposed nearly $30 million in fines to public utilities Eversource Energy and The United Illuminating Company (UI) for failing to sufficiently prepare for and respond to tropical storm Isaias, which last summer, left hundreds of thousands of their customers without power for days.

The Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURA) fined Eversource, New England's largest power utility, $28.5 million and UI $1.2 million in civil penalties, mostly for failing to comply with performance standards under Connecticut's General Statutes Title 16, which regulates public service companies."
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Breaking contractsAvangrid - MassachsettsSenate leader calls for banning Avangrid from future projects
Rodrigues takes hardline stance on company’s move to terminate wind farm contract		News Article2023https://commonwealthmagazine.org/energy/senate-leader-calls-for-banning-avangrid-from-future-projects/“I firmly believe that any company that non-performs on an existing contract should be deemed disqualified and be barred from bidding on any future projects in the state,” Rodrigues wrote. “When companies do not act in good faith, they should be stricken from future bids, plain and simple.”
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FineNYSEGNYSEG Settles With New York For $2.75M Over Brewster Gas Leak, FireNews Article2023https://patch.com/new-york/southeast/new-york-fines-nyseg-2-75-million-over-brewster-gas-leak-fire"A Department of Public Service staff investigation last year found that the NYSEG employees failed to have proper equipment to effectively respond to the leak and wasted valuable time searching for working equipment. Additionally, department staff concluded that NYSEG's own policies and procedures were inadequate to ensure field staff have the necessary equipment while investigating leaks."
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Breaking contractsAvangrid - MassachsettsTop Healey aide chastises Avangrid for falling short of offshore wind promiseNews Article2023https://www.bostonglobe.com/2023/03/05/business/top-healey-aide-chastizes-avangrid-falling-short-offshore-wind-promise/"Rebecca Tepper, the state’s new energy and environmental affairs secretary, chastised Avangrid’s chief executive with a harsh letter that essentially accuses the company of bailing on its promise to build an offshore wind farm for Massachusetts in waters south of Martha’s Vineyard. In the Feb. 27 missive to Pedro Azagra, Tepper said the CEO and his company misrepresented the status of its contracts for the massive Commonwealth Wind project. Their actions, she hinted, could be taken into consideration in the state’s future offshore wind auctions."
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ABOVE THE LAW - Investigations into alleged criminal behavior
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InvestigationIberdrolaThe Iberdrola case is extended until July pending the analysis of new documentation on Villarejo / El caso Iberdrola se amplía hasta julio a la espera del análisis de nueva documentación sobre VillarejoNews Article2023https://cincodias-elpais-com.translate.goog/companias/2023-03-28/el-caso-iberdrola-se-amplia-hasta-julio-a-la-espera-del-analisis-de-nueva-documentacion-sobre-villarejo.html?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=wapp https://cincodias.elpais.com/companias/2023-03-28/el-caso-iberdrola-se-amplia-hasta-julio-a-la-espera-del-analisis-de-nueva-documentacion-sobre-villarejo.html"The judge of the National Court opened this seventeenth separate piece at the end of 2019 . Since then, the focus has been on the various espionage contracts that Asenjo, representing Iberdrola, signed with the Villarejo companies between 2004 and 2017 ." El juez de la Audiencia Nacional abrió esta decimoséptima pieza separada a finales de 2019. Desde entonces, se ha puesto el foco en los diversos contratos de espionaje que Asenjo, en representación de Iberdrola, firmó con las empresas de Villarejo entre 2004 y 2017.

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InvestigationIberdrolaSpain business executives implicated in decade-long spying scandalNews Article2022https://www.jurist.org/news/2022/02/spain-business-executives-implicated-in-decade-long-spying-scandal/#"The former and current executives are under investigation from allegations that in 2011 and 2012 they contracted disgraced former Spain National Police Chief Jose Manuel Villarejo’s security firm for the purpose of spying on former Sacyr Chairman Luis del Rivero. At the time, Repsol was partly owned by Caixabank. The alleged goal of this espionage was to block a takeover bid for Repsol by Sacyr and the Mexican state-owned oil firm, Pemex."
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Found Guilty Scottish Power/IberdrolaShell and Scottish Power guilty of energy fraud and market manipulation in the USNews Article2016https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/article-3544812/Shell-Scottish-Power-guilty-energy-fraud-market-manipulation-US.html"Shell and Iberdrola-owned Scottish Power have been found guilty of fraud and market manipulation which led to power blackouts in the San Francisco bay area.

The finding by a Federal Energy Regulation Commission (FERC) judge alleges that Shell and Iberdrola made £809million of illegal profits which may now have to be repaid to the citizens of California.

Evidence presented during the hearings says that energy traders at Shell and Iberdrola used similar tactics to the collapsed energy firm Enron to drive up the prices which Californian residents had to pay on their long-term contracts."
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fines, corruptionUnited Illuminating - ConneticutUnited Illuminating Buyer Has Multiple Fraud And Corruption Cases In EuropeNews Article2015https://www.courant.com/2015/10/29/united-illuminating-buyer-has-multiple-fraud-and-corruption-cases-in-europe/"The proposed, $3 billion takeover of United Illuminating and Connecticut Natural Gas Co. by Iberdrola SA was already stacked with concerns when another hot issue brought some high drama to a regulatory hearing this month.

Iberdrola has had five recent cases of fraud and corruption around the world, with millions of dollars in fines, tens of millions in proposed fines and a worldwide ban on World Bank financing.
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investigationCentral Maine PowerMaine lawmakers urge PUC to investigate allegations against CMP parent companyNews Article2021https://mainebeacon.com/maine-lawmakers-urge-puc-to-investigate-allegations-against-cmp-parent-company/"Following allegations of racketeering and bid-rigging in a lawsuit against Central Maine Power’s parent company Avangrid, a group of bipartisan legislators are urging the Maine Public Utilities Commission to launch an immediate investigation into how Maine ratepayers may have been impacted if wrongdoing did take place. "
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investigationIberdrola"Aglow Project": the judge puts the spotlight on a new job carried out by Villarejo for IberdrolaNews Article2023https://www-msn-com.translate.goog/es-es/dinero/empresa/proyecto-aglow-el-juez-pone-el-foco-en-un-nuevo-trabajo-de-villarejo-para-iberdrola/ar-AA175ZHc?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=wapp translation: https://www.dropbox.com/s/67ch2h72p80h1hm/%22Aglow%20Project%22%20the%20judge%20puts%20the%20spotlight%20on%20a%20new%20job%20carried%20out%20by%20Villarejo%20for%20Iberdrola.pdf?dl=0"Initially, said program would only last six months, although it was updated in 2007 as the 'New Aglow project' to accommodate a request for "permanent collaboration" with Iberdrola. Asenjo would have transferred this offer consisting of "carrying out intelligence work, with strategy, investigation, analysis and operational tasks in order to know, in advance, the relevant facts that could be relevant to the company."

According to the summary, Villarejo, while he was still active in the National Police and through his companies within the Cenyt Group, carried out a series of investigative or espionage work for Iberdrola between 2004 and 2017. Until now, he had identified 'Arrow' as the first order that the listed company made to the undercover agent to overcome the obstacles that were arising for the start-up of a combined cycle power plant in the Cadiz town of Arcos de la Frontera.

At the same time, Cenyt carried out the 'Black Board project' or 'B-B' (2004 and 2005) to obtain supposedly sensitive information on the activities of the former president of Endesa Manuel Pizarro. These were followed by the projects 'Gipsy' and 'Posy' (2009), related to the president of ACS, Florentino Pérez, and an Iberdrola executive. And, finally, the 'Wind project' (2011), which was the one that implicated Iberdrola Renovables, about the alleged espionage of the Swiss company Eólica Dobrogea and its majority shareholder Christopher Kaap and his attorney Corneliu Dica, with whom Iberdrola allied to promote a series of projects in Romania and with whom various conflicts arose."
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Investigation Iberdrola"Italy's antitrust watchdog probes Iren, Iberdrola, E.ON over customer contracts"News Article2022https://www.reuters.com/markets/europe/italys-antitrust-probes-iren-iberdrola-eon-over-customer-contracts-2022-10-19/"Italy's competition watchdog has opened inquiries into Italian utility Iren (IREE.MI), Spain's Iberdrola (IBE.MC) and German's E.ON (EONGn.DE) over some of their alleged electricity and gas contract practices with customers, it said on Wednesday. International energy companies Iberdrola and E.ON have also been challenged over the way they communicated with customers in Italy who were having difficulties paying their bills and were then offered new contracts on worse terms."
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Billing problems/investigationNYSEG Capital Region NYSEG customers react to massive bills amid NYS DPS investigationNews Video2023https://www.news10.com/news/local-news/capital-region-nyseg-customers-react-to-massive-bills-amid-nys-dps-investigation/"Leslie Swedish of Stillwater says it’s never been smooth sailing as a New York State Electric and Gas customer. She says every year the company hits her with a higher-than-usual bill around January.

“They always say the reason is they underestimated something about the rate or the usage and didn’t charge us enough throughout the year, so they have to make up the difference,” Swedish explains to NEWS10’s Mikhaela Singleton.

However, when she was hit with two bills in one month totaling more than $6,500 — shock just doesn’t cover it."
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Billing problems/investigationNYSEGPublic Service Commission holds forum for distressed NYSEG customers facing billing issuesNews Video2023https://cnycentral.com/news/local/public-service-commission-holds-forum-for-distressed-nyseg-customers-facing-billing-issues"Customers of New York State Electric and Gas (NYSEG) continue to complain about the utility company's billing system. The New York Public Service Commission held a virtual forum Tuesday for concerned customers. The commission listened to customers' concerns for over two hours. Of the complaints, most fell into one of two categories: billing concerns and challenges communicating with the utility company."
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Billing problems/investigationRG&EAs RG&E billing issues persist, customers demand answersNews Video2022https://www.rochesterfirst.com/rochester-gas-and-electric/rge-billing-issues-persist-customers-demand-answers/"Customers say bills are way higher than normal this year. There are also instances where people will get charged nothing for months, then get a huge bill down the road. City resident Jennifer LaRocco says she’s been billed consistently month to month, but is seeing delivery charges four times higher than the usual amount, and overall bills about five times higher than they usually are."
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Billing probblems/investigationNYSEG/RG&ENY expands investigation into NYSEG, RG&E billing errorsNews Article2022https://auburnpub.com/news/local/ny-expands-investigation-into-nyseg-rg-e-billing-errors/article_b9927395-df75-5fd5-9a49-5a33d783ec61.html"The state Department of Public Service is expanding its investigation into two utilities after a 60% spike in the number of complaints against the companies this year. The inquiry is focused on billing errors by New York State Electric and Gas and Rochester Gas & Electric, which are subsidiaries of AVANGRID. According to the department, the investigation began after NYSEG and RG&E changed its customer information and billing system. Scores of consumers have complained about incorrect or late bills. The department said that complaints against NYSEG and RG&E total more than 4,700 this year, a 60% increase compared to the last two years combined."
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investigation, massive salaryScottish PowerScottish Power chief earned over £11m despite facing fraud and bribery probeNews Article2022https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/scottishpower-chairman-earned-over-11million-27792895"Scottish Liberal Democrat business and finance spokesman John Ferry said: “As millions suffer in a cost-of-living emergency, it continues to beggar belief that energy executives can get away with eye-watering salaries, especially amid reports of fraud, bribery and spying.

“The No1 priority should be to support hard-pressed Scottish households to bring down bills and kickstart an emergency insulation programme to boost energy efficiency.”
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InvestigationIberdrolaSpain launches inquiry after dams drained for profit during drought
Firm used water to generate cheap electricity while price to customers in grip of heatwave is at record high		News Article2021https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/aug/15/spain-launches-inquiry-after-dams-drained-for-profit-amid-heatwave"The Spanish government has launched an inquiry after it emerged that a power company drained two reservoirs during a heatwave and drought in order to profit from exceptionally high electricity prices.

Iberdrola, the country’s second biggest producer, drained the dams in Zamora and Cáceres provinces in western Spain over a period of a few weeks to produce cheap hydroelectricity while the price to consumers is at a record high."
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Conflict of interest, corruption, investigationIberdrola/AvangridPowerful ties
News Article2021https://searchlightnm.org/nm-attorney-general-accused-of-violating-state-ethics-laws/"Attorney General Hector Balderas’ cozy relationship with a local law firm is under scrutiny amid allegations that Albuquerque-based attorney Marcus Rael Jr. used his influence with the attorney general to convince Balderas to sign off on a multi-billion-dollar utility merger. The merger between a global energy giant and New Mexico’s largest utility could drastically change electricity distribution in the state, with hundreds of millions of dollars for New Mexico utility customers hanging in the balance.

For eight months, the state has been involved in negotiations over a proposed merger between Connecticut-based Avangrid and Public Service Company of New Mexico (PNM), the state’s largest utility. Rael, who frequently represents the state, was hired to represent Avangrid’s parent company in the negotiations.

Five civic and environmental justice groups have filed a complaint with the State Ethics Commission, the State Auditor and the disciplinary board of the New Mexico Supreme Court, alleging that Rael used his influence to push the attorney general into signing on early to the merger deal. The move saved the companies money that would otherwise have gone into New Mexicans’ pockets via credits on their electricity bills and economic development funding. Balderas, who has participated in negotiations on behalf of consumers, initially critiqued the deal before changing course, after meetings with Rael."
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investigationIberdrolaSpain investigates leading energy companies over delays to customers wanting cheapest gas tariffNews Article2022https://www.theolivepress.es/spain-news/2022/10/25/spain-investigates-leading-energy-companies-over-delays-to-customers-wanting-cheapest-gas-tariff/"SPAIN’S competition regulator, the CNMC, will probe the country’s four leading gas suppliers over not doing enough to help consumers wanting to get onto the lowest TUR tariff.

Naturgy, Endesa, Iberdrola and TotalEnergies are obliged to offer the ‘Last Resort Rate’, known as the TUR.

The tariff is capped by the government and is considerably lower than prices on the free market.

Since the government approved a new TUR rate for communities that share a gas boiler and central heating systems, the requests to switch to the tariff have sky-rocketed.

It’s believed that customer service departments from the energy companies have not been able to cope with the demand."
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investigationUnited Illuminating - ConneticutState investigation focused on whether utilities could collect back bills during COVIDNews Article2022https://www.ctpost.com/news/article/State-investigation-focused-on-whether-utilities-17086881.php"The PURA collections investigation began last month after state Consumer Counsel Claire Coleman filed a petition based on responses from the utilities during an earlier investigation into tactics they deploy during collection efforts, such as wage garnishments and reporting customers to credit rating agencies.

Avangrid reported obtaining 263 judgments against customers and 80 wage garnishments between 2020 and 2021. UI said it referred 1,757 customers with a “hardship designation” to collection counsel, nearly double the number reported between 2018-19."
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ABOVE THE LAW - Silencing critics
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lawsuits against pressIberdrolaIberdrola loses the lawsuit in which it asked El Confidencial for up to 17.6 million eurosNews Article2023https://www.elconfidencial.com/empresas/2023-03-21/iberdrola-pierde-demanda-elconfidencial_3596014/ translation: https://www-elconfidencial-com.translate.goog/empresas/2023-03-21/iberdrola-pierde-demanda-elconfidencial_3596014/?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=wapp"The court of first instance number 4 of Bilbao has dismissed in its entirety the lawsuit filed by the electricity multinational Iberdrola in which it accused Titania Compañía Editorial , editor of the newspaper El Confidencial, of having violated its right to honor and having caused reputational damage by reporting of the Tandem case, for which the National Court is judicially investigating the hiring by the electricity company of commissioner José Manuel Villarejo to, allegedly, carry out espionage and intelligence work on rivals, politicians, judges and trade unionists. The sentence obliges Iberdrola to pay the legal costsfrom both sides."
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ATTEMPTS TO BUY OUR DEMOCRACY
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Political contributionsIberdrolaIberdrola triggers contributions to politicians in the US after the veto to the purchase of PNM

Avangrid, the utility's subsidiary in North America, increases monetary contributions to candidates and political parties by more than 10 times during 2022. It has also doubled contributions to parties in the UK.		News Article2023https://www.elconfidencial.com/empresas/2023-03-06/iberdrola-dispara-pago-politicos-tras-veto_3586717/"Iberdrola has triggered the payment to politicians and political formations during 2022. Avangrid, its U.S. subsidiary, has increased contributions to political parties exponentially. From 45,011 euros that it disbursed in 2021, it has gone on to pay 559,550 euros ($589,000, at the change) to candidates and political parties, according to official documentation of the electric company. That is, in the last year it has raised these contributions by more than 10 times.

This increase in payments comes after the New Mexico regulator knocked down the acquisition of the electricity company PNM Resources at the end of 2021, which was a setback for the company, which saw one of the largest corporate operations in its history vetoed. The five commissioners of the regulator justified their vote against by the questions raised by the criminal investigation followed against Iberdrola and its directors in Spain by the Villarejo case and also by considering that the purchase by Iberdrola was not the best alternative to the interests of its consumers."