Judicial appeal on electricity prices 2025: what market agents must do

Key data

The average prices of the daily and intraday electricity market for 2025, published by the CNMC in its Agreement of 22 January 2026, are being challenged before the Audiencia Nacional. The resolution of 6 April 2026 —published in the BOE on 15 April 2026— summons all interested parties to appear in the judicial proceeding if they wish to defend their positions.

These prices are not a statistical figure: they directly determine the remuneration of electricity generation facilities and the settlement of energy contracts. A change in them, if the appeal succeeds, can have real economic consequences for any market agent whose billing or costs are referenced to those values.

What does this regulation establish?

The CNMC resolution has a strictly procedural nature: it does not modify the published prices nor establish new economic obligations. Its function is to publicly notify that an administrative contentious appeal is in progress and to give interested parties the opportunity to join the judicial proceeding.

The challenged agreement —that of 22 January 2026— is the one that set the apportionment and average annual price of the daily and intraday electricity market corresponding to the year 2025. This type of annual publication has direct effects on:

• The remuneration of electricity generation facilities under regulated schemes.
• The settlement of energy contracts that take the average market price as a reference.

The appeal is identified with the reference 4/398/2026 and is processed before the Audiencia Nacional. While the proceeding is in progress, the published prices remain valid. Only if the court were to uphold the appeal could modifications with retroactive or future effects occur.

Economic and operational impact

The resolution itself does not generate immediate cost. The economic risk is contingent: it depends on whether the appeal succeeds and on what the Audiencia Nacional's ruling is.

However, there are two impact vectors that companies must assess now:

• Generation remuneration: Facilities whose regulated remuneration is calculated taking the average annual market price for 2025 as a reference are directly exposed. If the court modifies that price, settlements already made could be revised.
• Energy contracts: Contracts that incorporate the average daily and intraday market price for 2025 as a settlement variable may be affected if that price changes by judicial resolution.

The cost of not acting now is the loss of procedural standing: if you do not appear in the appeal within the deadline, you will not be able to argue your interests before the court even if the ruling directly affects you.

Who does it affect?

• Companies owning electricity generation facilities whose remuneration is referenced to the average annual market price for 2025.
• Retailers and industrial consumers with supply or hedging contracts whose settlement takes the average daily and intraday market price for 2025 as a reference.
• Wholesale electricity market agents (producers, retailers, traders) that have operated in the daily or intraday market during 2025.
• Legal and financial advisors managing portfolios of generation assets or energy contracts referenced to market prices.
• CFOs and financial directors of energy companies that must provision contingencies arising from possible price revisions.

Practical example

A company owning a wind farm whose regulated remuneration for 2025 was calculated based on the average annual daily market price published in the Agreement of 22 January 2026 has a direct interest in the outcome of appeal 4/398/2026.

If the appeal succeeds and the Audiencia Nacional annuls or modifies that average price, the remuneration already received by that facility during 2025 could be subject to revision in subsequent settlements —upward or downward, depending on the direction of the ruling—.

If that company does not appear in the judicial proceeding now that the CNMC has summoned it, it will not be able to present arguments or evidence in defense of its interests during the processing of the appeal. The outcome of the process will affect it equally, but without having been able to influence it.

The concrete action: instruct a lawyer specialized in energy law and administrative contentious proceedings to assess the advisability of appearing and, if appropriate, to formalize the appearance before the Audiencia Nacional within the applicable procedural deadline.

What should companies do now?

1. Assess whether you have legitimate interest: Determine if your company has regulated remuneration, contracts or positions in the market that depend on the average annual price of the daily and intraday electricity market for 2025. If the answer is yes, you are potentially affected.
2. Consult with a lawyer specialized in energy law: The decision to appear in an administrative contentious appeal before the Audiencia Nacional has procedural and cost implications. A specialist can assess whether your position justifies intervention and what the deadline is to do so.
3. Act within the procedural deadline: The summons resolution was published on 15 April 2026. Deadlines for appearing in administrative contentious proceedings are strict. Do not wait: find out how much time you have to appear.
4. Provision the contingency if you are a CFO or financial director: Although the appeal does not modify prices today, there is a contingent risk of settlement revisions. Assess whether you should reflect it in your financial statements or in your risk management.
5. Monitor the progress of the proceeding: Appeal 4/398/2026 before the Audiencia Nacional may take months or years to be resolved. Establish a monitoring system to learn of the ruling as soon as it is issued and be able to react in time.