21/10/2025

In the third quarter of 2025, the Energy Services Regulatory Authority (ERSE) imposed fines totalling €570,330.00 in relation to 13 administrative offence proceedings. Three of these proceedings were settled through settlement procedures, meaning that the total fines actually collected amounted to around €300,000. A total of 25 administrative offence proceedings were concluded during the quarter.

The following convictions are noteworthy among those decided by ERSE in the third quarter:

• Petrogal, S.A. - sentenced to a single fine of €400,000.00, reduced to €200,000.00 in settlement proceedings, for breach of duties relating to the recording and storage of telephone calls, failure to pay compensation to customers, provision and disclosure of information to customers, incorrect parameterisation of billing elements, failure to respond in a timely manner to requests for information made through call centres and failure to comply with the complaints book regime. With regard to the deleted call recordings, Petrogal undertook to resolve complaints in favour of customers when there is no other evidence to the contrary, recognising that such a commitment is likely to be used in the arbitration of consumer disputes;
•  Gás SU, S.A. - fined a single amount of €140,000.00, reduced to €70,000.00 in a settlement procedure, for breaching its duty to submit customer requests to the logistics operator responsible for changing suppliers within a maximum of five working days and for failing to provide information to customers. Gás S.U. awarded compensation to the consumer harmed by the delay in submitting the request to change supplier;
• G9 Telecom, S.A. - which was fined a single fine of €12,000.00 for failing to provide information to customers and incorrectly setting billing parameters;
• Sonorgás – Sociedade de Gás do Norte, S.A. was fined €6,000, reduced to €3,000 in a settlement procedure, for failing to provide information to customers in the supply contract.

The fines imposed by ERSE also include the conclusion of nine administrative offence proceedings under Decree-Law No. 156/2005 of 15 September. This law establishes the obligation for all suppliers of goods or service providers who have contact with the general public to make a complaints book available. 

During the third quarter of this year, 12 new administrative offence proceedings were initiated based on evidence resulting from ERSE's supervisory activities and complaints from external entities.