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Enel S.p.A. is an Italian multinational manufacturer and distributor of electricity and gas. Enel was first established as a
public body A statutory corporation is a government entity created as a statutory body by statute. Their precise nature varies by jurisdiction, but they are corporations owned by a government or controlled by national or sub-national government to the (in ...
at the end of 1962, and then transformed into a
limited company In a limited company, the Legal liability, liability of members or subscribers of the company is limited to what they have invested or guaranteed to the company. Limited companies may be limited by Share (finance), shares or by guarantee. In a c ...
in 1992. In 1999, following the
liberalisation Liberalization or liberalisation (British English) is a broad term that refers to the practice of making laws, systems, or opinions less severe, usually in the sense of eliminating certain government regulations or restrictions. The term is used ...
of the
electricity market An electricity market is a system that enables the exchange of electrical energy, through an electrical grid. Historically, electricity has been primarily sold by companies that operate electric generators, and purchased by consumers or electr ...
in Italy, Enel was
privatised Privatization (rendered privatisation in British English) can mean several different things, most commonly referring to moving something from the public sector into the private sector. It is also sometimes used as a synonym for deregulation wh ...
. The Italian state, through the Ministry of Economy and Finance, is the main shareholder, with 23.6% of the share capital as of 31 December 2024. The company is quoted on the
FTSE MIB The FTSE MIB (Milano Indice di Borsa) (the S&P/MIB prior to June 2009) is the benchmark stock market index for the Borsa Italiana, the Italian national stock exchange, which superseded the MIB-30 in September 2004. The index consists of the 40 m ...
index on the
Borsa Italiana Borsa Italiana () or Borsa di Milano (), based in Milan at Palazzo Mezzanotte, Mezzanotte Palace, is the Italy, Italian stock exchange. It manages and organises domestic market, regulating procedures for admission and listing of companies and i ...
.


History


1898–1962: Towards a national policy for electricity

In 1898, the production of electricity in Italy was 100  GWh, and had a value of over $56 billion by 1960. The majority of the electricity was produced by regional private companies, or by companies linked to other industrial bodies, both local and regional, by exploiting the specific characteristics of the territory: its
hydrogeological Hydrogeology (''hydro-'' meaning water, and ''-geology'' meaning the study of the Earth) is the area of geology that deals with the distribution and movement of groundwater in the soil and rocks of the Earth's crust (commonly in aqui ...
resources. The state subsidised the construction of
power stations A power station, also referred to as a power plant and sometimes generating station or generating plant, is an industrial facility for the electricity generation, generation of electric power. Power stations are generally connected to an electr ...
and other necessary construction work in the territory in order to increase the production of
electricity Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter possessing an electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described by Maxwel ...
. In 1961, the state-regulated distribution, with unified national tariffs set on the basis of equal consumption classes (through the Equalisation Fund for the Electricity Sector), and by requiring power companies to provide access to electricity for everyone. In 1962, the government institutionalised the Entity for electricity with the aim of making electricity a means for the development of the country and in order to define a national policy for electricity based on the experiences of other countries such as
France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
and the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
.


1962: Establishment of the National Electricity Board

At the beginning of 1962, the
Fanfani IV Cabinet The Fanfani IV Cabinet was the 17th cabinet of the Italian Republic, which held office from 22 February 1962 to 22 June 1963, for a total of 485 days, or 1 year and 4 months. The government was presented to the chambers on 2 March 1962. The tru ...
committed the government to put together a proposal for the unification of the national electricity system within three months of the parliament passing a confidence motion. During the
Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourb ...
assembly of 26 June 1962, the government presented a bill that sanctioned the principles and procedures for the establishment of the ''Ente Nazionale per l'energia Elettrica'' (E.N.EL). According to the bill, Enel was going to acquire all assets of companies producing, processing, transmitting, and distributing electricity, with the exception of self-producers—companies that produced more than 70% of their electricity for other production processes—(the same exception was later applied to municipal authorities), and of small businesses that did not produce more than 10 million
kilowatt hour A kilowatt-hour ( unit symbol: kW⋅h or kW h; commonly written as kWh) is a non-SI unit of energy equal to 3.6 megajoules (MJ) in SI units, which is the energy delivered by one kilowatt of power for one hour. Kilowatt-hours are a commo ...
s per year. Procedures to assess the value of the acquired companies were defined, and it was established that
compensation Compensation may refer to: *Financial compensation *Compensation (chess), various advantages a player has in exchange for a disadvantage *Compensation (essay), ''Compensation'' (essay), by Ralph Waldo Emerson *Compensation (film), ''Compensation'' ...
was to be paid to creditors in 10 years at an interest rate of 5.5%. Within this framework, 1962 was to be considered a transition year, in which all income and expenses of the acquired companies would be transferred to Enel. 1963 was thus the first operational year of the newly formed company. The first companies to be acquired were: SIP (
Piedmont Piedmont ( ; ; ) is one of the 20 regions of Italy, located in the northwest Italy, Northwest of the country. It borders the Liguria region to the south, the Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna regions to the east, and the Aosta Valley region to the ...
), Edison Volta (
Lombardy The Lombardy Region (; ) is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in northern Italy and has a population of about 10 million people, constituting more than one-sixth of Italy's population. Lombardy is ...
),
SADE Sade may refer to: People * Marquis de Sade (1740–1814), French aristocrat, writer, and libertine; namesake of the word ''sadism'' * Sade (singer) (born 1959, Helen Folasade Adu), British Nigerian musician and lead singer of the eponymous band * ...
(
Veneto Veneto, officially the Region of Veneto, is one of the 20 regions of Italy, located in the Northeast Italy, north-east of the country. It is the fourth most populous region in Italy, with a population of 4,851,851 as of 2025. Venice is t ...
), SELT-Valdarno (
Tuscany Tuscany ( ; ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of 3,660,834 inhabitants as of 2025. The capital city is Florence. Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, artistic legacy, and its in ...
), SRE (
Lazio Lazio ( , ; ) or Latium ( , ; from Latium, the original Latin name, ) is one of the 20 Regions of Italy, administrative regions of Italy. Situated in the Central Italy, central peninsular section of the country, it has 5,714,882 inhabitants an ...
), SME (
Campania Campania is an administrative Regions of Italy, region of Italy located in Southern Italy; most of it is in the south-western portion of the Italian Peninsula (with the Tyrrhenian Sea to its west), but it also includes the small Phlegraean Islan ...
), SGES (
Sicily Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...
), and Carbosarda (
Sardinia Sardinia ( ; ; ) is the Mediterranean islands#By area, second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, and one of the Regions of Italy, twenty regions of Italy. It is located west of the Italian Peninsula, north of Tunisia an ...
).


1963–1970: Modernization and development of the network

Enel's early goals were the modernization and development of the
electricity grid An electrical grid (or electricity network) is an interconnected network for electricity delivery from producers to consumers. Electrical grids consist of power stations, electrical substations to step voltage up or down, electric power trans ...
with the construction of a high voltage power lines backbone, international connections, connections to the islands,
rural electrification Rural electrification is the process of bringing electrical power to rural and remote areas. Rural communities are suffering from colossal market failures as the national grids fall short of their demand for electricity. As of 2019, 770 million ...
, and the creation of a national centre for dispatching. These projects were to be co-financed by the state through the issuing, in 1965, of bonds valued at over 200 billion
Italian lira The lira ( , ; : lire, , ) was the currency of Italy between 1861 and 2002. It was introduced by the Kingdom of Italy (Napoleonic), Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy in 1807 at par with the French franc, and was subsequently adopted by the different s ...
s. In 1967, Enel, which was originally supervised by the Committee of Ministers, began to be overseen by the inter-ministerial Committee for Economic Planning (CIPE), under the Ministry of Industry. During this period, production from
thermal power station A thermal power station, also known as a thermal power plant, is a type of power station in which the heat energy generated from various fuel sources (e.g., coal, natural gas, nuclear fuel, etc.) is converted to electrical energy. The heat ...
s surpassed, for the very first time, that of
hydroelectric power Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is Electricity generation, electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies 15% of the world's electricity, almost 4,210 TWh in 2023, which is more than all other Renewable energ ...
. In 1963, the National Dispatch Centre of
Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...
was created to manage the energy network by coordinating the production plants, the
transmission network Electric power transmission is the bulk movement of electrical energy from a generating site, such as a power plant, to an electrical substation. The interconnected lines that facilitate this movement form a ''transmission network''. This is ...
, the
distribution Distribution may refer to: Mathematics *Distribution (mathematics), generalized functions used to formulate solutions of partial differential equations *Probability distribution, the probability of a particular value or value range of a varia ...
, as well as the interconnection of the Italian electricity system with that of foreign countries by adjusting in real time the production and transmission of energy on the basis of actual demand. In terms of rural electrification, the settlements that were not connected to the electricity grid declined from 1.27% in 1960 to 0.46% in 1964, with over 320,000 new residents being connected. In the five-year period between 1966 and 1970, further investments for rural electrification were made, where 80% of the costs were covered by the state and 20% by Enel, part of those costs being incurred by reducing some rates as an incentive for agricultural development. In 1968, the construction of the 380 kV high-voltage connection between
Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...
and
Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...
began, with the aim of joining the high voltage electrical system of the north with that of the centre and the south. Around the same time, international high voltage connections with
France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
(380 kV Venaus-Villarodin, 1969) and
Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...
were also put in place. In the same year, undersea electrical cables were put in place to connect the peninsula and the islands of
Elba Elba (, ; ) is a Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean island in Tuscany, Italy, from the coastal town of Piombino on the Italian mainland, and the largest island of the Tuscan Archipelago. It is also part of the Arcipelago Toscano National Park, a ...
(1966),
Ischia Ischia ( , , ) is a volcanic island in the Tyrrhenian Sea. It lies at the northern end of the Gulf of Naples, about from the city of Naples. It is the largest of the Phlegrean Islands. Although inhabited since the Bronze Age, as a Ancient G ...
(1967), and
Sardinia Sardinia ( ; ; ) is the Mediterranean islands#By area, second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, and one of the Regions of Italy, twenty regions of Italy. It is located west of the Italian Peninsula, north of Tunisia an ...
through
Corsica Corsica ( , , ; ; ) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the Regions of France, 18 regions of France. It is the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast of the Metro ...
(1967). In 1963, Enel was involved in the
Vajont Dam The Vajont Dam or Vaiont Dam is a disused hydro-electric dam in northern Italy. It is one of the tallest dams in the world, with a height of . It is in the valley of the Vajont (river) under Monte Toc, in the municipality of Erto e Casso, ...
disaster. On 9 October 1963, a huge landslide of 260 million cubic metres fell into the reservoir formed by the dam. The dam and power plant had been built by the
Società Adriatica di Elettricità Edison S.p.A. is an Italian electric utility company headquartered in Milan. The company was established in 1884 and acquired by Electricité de France in 2012. Edison employs more than 5,000 people in Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East. ...
(the Adriatic Electricity Company, or SADE) and then sold to Edison, and it had just been transferred as part of the nationalisation process to the newly established Enel. The landslide created huge waves in the Vajont reservoir, which partially flooded the villages of
Erto e Casso Erto e Casso (, ) is a (municipality) in the Province of Pordenone, Regional decentralization entity of Pordenone in the Italy, Italian region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, located about northwest of Trieste and about northwest of Pordenone. Geogra ...
and swept over the dam, completely wiping out the towns in the valley below it:
Longarone Longarone is a town and ''comune'' on the banks of the Piave in the province of Belluno, in northeast Italy. It is situated from Belluno. 4,642 people work all together in Longarone, which is 112.62% of the total population, with most actual in ...
, Pirago, Rivalta, Villanova, and Faè. Approximately two thousand people died in the disaster. Enel and Montedison were charged in the ensuing trial as the companies responsible for the disaster, a responsibility considered all more serious because of the predictability of the event. The two companies were forced to pay damages to the communities involved in the catastrophe.


1970–1989: Energy crisis and search for new sources

The decade of the 1970s was distinguished by a major
energy crisis An energy crisis or energy shortage is any significant Bottleneck (production), bottleneck in the supply of energy resources to an economy. In literature, it often refers to one of the energy sources used at a certain time and place, in particu ...
that led the company to implement drastic
austerity In economic policy, austerity is a set of Political economy, political-economic policies that aim to reduce government budget deficits through Government spending, spending cuts, tax increases, or a combination of both. There are three prim ...
measures, and the establishment of a national energy plan that defined the objectives of both building new power plants and searching for new
energy sources Energy development is the field of activities focused on obtaining sources of energy from Natural resource, natural resources. These activities include the production of Renewable energy, renewable, nuclear power, nuclear, and fossil fuel derive ...
. In 1975, as a result of the
1973 oil crisis In October 1973, the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC) announced that it was implementing a total oil embargo against countries that had supported Israel at any point during the 1973 Yom Kippur War, which began after Eg ...
and the austerity measures, and following the establishment of the first National Energy Plan (PEN), the aim of the company became that of reducing Enel's dependence on
hydrocarbons In organic chemistry, a hydrocarbon is an organic compound consisting entirely of hydrogen and carbon. Hydrocarbons are examples of group 14 hydrides. Hydrocarbons are generally colourless and hydrophobic; their odor is usually faint, and may b ...
, which was to be achieved with the use of other energy sources, including hydro, geothermal, coal, reducing waste, and, in particular, the use of
nuclear power Nuclear power is the use of nuclear reactions to produce electricity. Nuclear power can be obtained from nuclear fission, nuclear decay and nuclear fusion reactions. Presently, the vast majority of electricity from nuclear power is produced by ...
. Several new plants were built in the course of the decade. In the early 1970s, the construction of the nuclear power station Caorso (Emilia-Romagna), the first major
nuclear power plant A nuclear power plant (NPP), also known as a nuclear power station (NPS), nuclear generating station (NGS) or atomic power station (APS) is a thermal power station in which the heat source is a nuclear reactor. As is typical of thermal power st ...
in Italy (to generate 840-860  MW), began. The station became operational in 1978. Between 1972 and 1978, the hydroelectric plant of Taloro was built in the province of
Nuoro Nuoro ( ; ) is a city and (municipality) in central-eastern Sardinia, Italy, situated on the slopes of Mount Ortobene. It is the capital of the province of Nuoro. With a population of 36,347 (2011), it is the sixth-largest city in Sardinia. Its ...
(
Sardinia Sardinia ( ; ; ) is the Mediterranean islands#By area, second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, and one of the Regions of Italy, twenty regions of Italy. It is located west of the Italian Peninsula, north of Tunisia an ...
). In 1973, the hydroelectric plant of San Fiorano became operational. In 1977, a thermoelectric power plant opened in Torre del Sale, near
Piombino Piombino is an Italian town and ''comune'' of about 35,000 inhabitants in the province of Livorno (Tuscany). It lies on the border between the Ligurian Sea and the Tyrrhenian Sea, in front of Elba Island and at the northern side of Maremma. Ov ...
(Tuscany). At the end of the 1970s, the construction of the thermal power plant of
Porto Tolle Porto Tolle is a town in the province of Rovigo, Veneto, northern Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula tha ...
(
Veneto Veneto, officially the Region of Veneto, is one of the 20 regions of Italy, located in the Northeast Italy, north-east of the country. It is the fourth most populous region in Italy, with a population of 4,851,851 as of 2025. Venice is t ...
) began, and its first completed section became active in 1980. Between 1971 and 1977, the pilot 1000 kV transmission facilities in
Suvereto Suvereto () is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Livorno in the Italian region Tuscany, located about southwest of Florence and about southeast of Livorno. It is one of ("The most beautiful villages of Italy"). Government ;''Frazi ...
(
Tuscany Tuscany ( ; ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of 3,660,834 inhabitants as of 2025. The capital city is Florence. Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, artistic legacy, and its in ...
) were tested. In 1974, the construction of the Adriatic high voltage electric backbone was completed. Between 1973 and 1977, wells for geothermal energy production were drilled in Torre Alfina, in the province of
Viterbo Viterbo (; Central Italian, Viterbese: ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in the Lazio region of Italy, the Capital city, capital of the province of Viterbo. It conquered and absorbed the neighboring town of Ferento (see Ferentium) in ...
(
Lazio Lazio ( , ; ) or Latium ( , ; from Latium, the original Latin name, ) is one of the 20 Regions of Italy, administrative regions of Italy. Situated in the Central Italy, central peninsular section of the country, it has 5,714,882 inhabitants an ...
). The dam of Alto Gesso (
Piedmont Piedmont ( ; ; ) is one of the 20 regions of Italy, located in the northwest Italy, Northwest of the country. It borders the Liguria region to the south, the Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna regions to the east, and the Aosta Valley region to the ...
) was completed in 1982 as part of the hydroelectric power station Luigi Einaudi "Entracque". The 1980s were characterised by the construction of new plants and the testing of alternative forms of energy, the Italian
nuclear power Nuclear power is the use of nuclear reactions to produce electricity. Nuclear power can be obtained from nuclear fission, nuclear decay and nuclear fusion reactions. Presently, the vast majority of electricity from nuclear power is produced by ...
phase-out, as well as a gradual reduction of reliance on oil, which decreased from 75.3% in 1973 to 58.5% in 1985. Several large power plants became active during this period. Among these, the
fossil fuel power plant A fossil fuel power station is a thermal power station that burns fossil fuel, such as coal, oil, or natural gas, to produce electricity. Fossil fuel power stations have machines that convert the heat energy of combustion into mechanical en ...
of Fiumesanto (
Sardinia Sardinia ( ; ; ) is the Mediterranean islands#By area, second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, and one of the Regions of Italy, twenty regions of Italy. It is located west of the Italian Peninsula, north of Tunisia an ...
) in 1983–84; the
pumped-storage hydroelectricity Pumped-storage hydroelectricity (PSH), or pumped hydroelectric energy storage (PHES), is a type of hydroelectric energy storage used by electric power systems for load balancing (electrical power), load balancing. A PSH system stores energy i ...
power station of
Edolo Edolo ( Camunian: ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Brescia, Lombardy, northern Italy, located in the upper Camonica valley. Edolo is neighbour to the comuni of Corteno Golgi, Incudine, Lovero, Malonno, Monno, Ponte di Legno, Sav ...
(
Lombardy The Lombardy Region (; ) is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in northern Italy and has a population of about 10 million people, constituting more than one-sixth of Italy's population. Lombardy is ...
) in 1984–85, one of the biggest of its kind in
Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
; and the
coal power plant A coal-fired power station or coal power plant is a thermal power station which burns coal to generate electricity. Worldwide there are about 2,500 coal-fired power stations, on average capable of generating a gigawatt each. They generate ...
of Torrevaldaliga Nord (
Lazio Lazio ( , ; ) or Latium ( , ; from Latium, the original Latin name, ) is one of the 20 Regions of Italy, administrative regions of Italy. Situated in the Central Italy, central peninsular section of the country, it has 5,714,882 inhabitants an ...
) in 1984. In 1981, with the help of the
European Economic Community The European Economic Community (EEC) was a regional organisation created by the Treaty of Rome of 1957,Today the largely rewritten treaty continues in force as the ''Treaty on the functioning of the European Union'', as renamed by the Lisbo ...
, Enel built the first large-scale compact linear Fresnel reflector
concentrated solar power plant Concentrated solar power (CSP, also known as concentrating solar power, concentrated solar thermal) systems generate solar power by using mirrors or lenses to concentrate a large area of sunlight into a receiver. Electricity is generated whe ...
, the 1
MWe The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantify the rate of energy transfer. The watt is named in honor o ...
Eurelios power station in
Adrano Adrano (; Adernò until 1929; ), ancient '' Adranon'', is a town and in the Metropolitan City of Catania on the east coast of Sicily. It is situated around northwest of Catania, which was also the capital of the province to which Adrano belo ...
(
Sicily Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...
). The plant was shut down in 1987. In 1984, the
photovoltaic power station A photovoltaic power station, also known as a solar park, solar farm, or solar power plant, is a large-scale grid-connected photovoltaic power system (PV system) designed for the supply of merchant power. They are different from most building ...
of
Vulcano Vulcano () or Vulcan is a small volcanic island belonging to Italy in the Tyrrhenian Sea, about north of Sicily and located at the southernmost end of the seven Aeolian Islands. The island is known for its volcanic activity and contains severa ...
(
Sicily Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...
) became active. In the same year, the first
wind farm A wind farm, also called a wind park or wind power plant, is a group of wind turbines in the same location used to produce electricity. Wind farms vary in size from a small number of turbines to several hundred wind turbines covering an exten ...
in the country became operational in Alta Nurra (
Sardinia Sardinia ( ; ; ) is the Mediterranean islands#By area, second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, and one of the Regions of Italy, twenty regions of Italy. It is located west of the Italian Peninsula, north of Tunisia an ...
). During 1985, the national center for the dispatch and control of the electricity network was gradually transferred from the center of
Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...
to Settebagni, and made a part of a bigger European network for the synchronisation of electricity production. In 1986, Enel had its first positive balance, with a profit of 14.1 billion
Italian lira The lira ( , ; : lire, , ) was the currency of Italy between 1861 and 2002. It was introduced by the Kingdom of Italy (Napoleonic), Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy in 1807 at par with the French franc, and was subsequently adopted by the different s ...
s. In 1987, in the aftermath of the
Chernobyl disaster On 26 April 1986, the no. 4 reactor of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, located near Pripyat, Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union (now Ukraine), exploded. With dozens of direct casualties, it is one of only ...
, the first referendum on nuclear power took place and was won by those opposed to nuclear power. This result marked the end of nuclear power in
Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
, the closing and suspension of all construction of nuclear power stations, and the establishment of a new national energy plan. The Caorso Nuclear Power Plant in
Emilia-Romagna Emilia-Romagna (, , both , ; or ; ) is an Regions of Italy, administrative region of northern Italy, comprising the historical regions of Emilia (region), Emilia and Romagna. Its capital is Bologna. It has an area of , and a population of 4.4 m ...
, which had been inactive since 1986 due to refuelling, was never reactivated and was finally closed in 1990. The
Enrico Fermi Nuclear Power Plant The Enrico Fermi Nuclear Generating Station is a nuclear power plant on the shore of Lake Erie near Monroe, in Frenchtown Charter Township, Michigan on approximately . All units of the plant are operated by the DTE Energy Electric Company and own ...
in
Piedmont Piedmont ( ; ; ) is one of the 20 regions of Italy, located in the northwest Italy, Northwest of the country. It borders the Liguria region to the south, the Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna regions to the east, and the Aosta Valley region to the ...
was deactivated in 1987 and shut down in 1990. The construction work on the
Montalto di Castro Nuclear Power Station The Montalto di Castro nuclear power station was a nuclear power plant at Montalto di Castro in Italy. Consisting of two BWR units each of 982 MWe, it was approaching completion in 1988 when the Italian government decided to close all nuclear pl ...
, started in 1982, was interrupted in 1988. The station was converted the following year into a multi-fuel plant. The
Latina Nuclear Power Plant Latina Nuclear Power Plant is a former nuclear power plant at Latina, Lazio, Italy. Consisting of one 153 MWe Magnox reactor, it operated from 1963 until 1987. A second reactor, the experimental CIRENE design, began construction at Latina ...
was shut down in 1988. The Garigliano Nuclear Power Plant had been shut down since 1978. In 1988, the new National Energy Plan (PEN) established its key objectives: increased energy efficiency, environmental protection, the exploitation of national resources, the diversification of sources of supply from abroad, and the overall competitiveness of the production system.


1990–present: Liberalisation and privatisation

Between 1990 and 2000, the Italian electricity market was progressively liberalized. In 1991, Law No. 9/1991 sanctioned a first partial liberalisation of the production of electricity generated from conventional sources and
renewable energy Renewable energy (also called green energy) is energy made from renewable resource, renewable natural resources that are replenished on a human lifetime, human timescale. The most widely used renewable energy types are solar energy, wind pow ...
sources; companies were allowed to produce electricity for their own use with an obligation to hand over the excess amount to Enel. In July 1992, the Amato I Cabinet turned Enel into a
joint-stock company A joint-stock company (JSC) is a business entity in which shares of the company's stock can be bought and sold by shareholders. Each shareholder owns company stock in proportion, evidenced by their shares (certificates of ownership). Shareho ...
with the
Treasury A treasury is either *A government department related to finance and taxation, a finance ministry; in a business context, corporate treasury. *A place or location where treasure, such as currency or precious items are kept. These can be ...
as the sole shareholder. In 1999, the
D'Alema I Cabinet The first D'Alema government was the Politics of Italy, government of Italy from 21 October 1998 to 22 December 1999. The first Prodi government fell in 1998 when the Communist Refoundation Party withdrew its support to Prodi. This led to the fo ...
issued Legislative Decree no. 79 of 16 March 1999 (known as the Bersani Decree) to liberalise the electricity sector. This opened up the possibility for other actors to operate in the energy market. Enel—which had so far been the only actor in the production, distribution, and sale of electricity in Italy—had now to change its corporate structure by distinguishing the three phases and constituting itself as three different companies: Enel Produzione, Enel Distribuzione, and Terna, respectively, for energy production, distribution, and transmission. Moreover, Enel could produce only 50 % of the national production according to the new law. That same year, 31.7% of the company, in its new structure, was privatised. Following privatization, Enel was put on the stock market; its shares were listed on the
Italian Stock Exchange Borsa Italiana () or Borsa di Milano (), based in Milan at Palazzo Mezzanotte, Mezzanotte Palace, is the Italy, Italian stock exchange. It manages and organises domestic market, regulating procedures for admission and listing of companies and i ...
with a value of €4.3 per share; the total number was 4,183 million shares for a total value of 18 billion. In this period, Enel was involved in several new projects. In 1993, the company built the Serre photovoltaic plant. At the time, this was largest of its kind in Europe with an installed capacity of 3.3 megawatts. In 1997, Enel,
France Télécom Orange S.A. (; formerly , stylised as france telecom) is a French multinational corporation, multinational telecommunications corporation founded in 1988 and headquartered in Issy-les-Moulineaux, near Paris. ''Orange'' has been the corporation' ...
, and
Deutsche Telekom Deutsche Telekom AG (, ; often just Telekom, DTAG or DT; stylised as ·T·) is a partially state-owned German telecommunications company headquartered in Bonn and the largest telecommunications provider in Europe by revenue. It was formed in 199 ...
funded
Wind Wind is the natural movement of atmosphere of Earth, air or other gases relative to a planetary surface, planet's surface. Winds occur on a range of scales, from thunderstorm flows lasting tens of minutes, to local breezes generated by heatin ...
as a
joint venture A joint venture (JV) is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership, shared returns and risks, and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint ventures for one of four reasons: to acce ...
, a mobile and fixed telecom operator. In 2000, Enel launched a project to connect Italy's and
Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...
's power grids by laying a 160 km underwater power line, capable of carrying 600 megawatts, to connect
Otranto Otranto (, , ; ; ; ; ) is a coastal town, port and ''comune'' in the province of Lecce (Apulia, Italy), in a fertile region once famous for its breed of horses. It is one of I Borghi più belli d'Italia ("The most beautiful villages of Italy"). ...
(
Apulia Apulia ( ), also known by its Italian language, Italian name Puglia (), is a Regions of Italy, region of Italy, located in the Southern Italy, southern peninsular section of the country, bordering the Adriatic Sea to the east, the Strait of Ot ...
) with the Greek city of Aetos. The project, completed in 2002, had a total cost of 339 million. During the 2000s, the company worked to reduce the environmental impact of the production of energy and on a progressive internationalization of Enel through a number of mergers and acquisitions. In 2000, Enel signed an agreement with the Italian Ministry of the Environment and the Ministry of Economic Development in which the company committed to reduce
carbon dioxide Carbon dioxide is a chemical compound with the chemical formula . It is made up of molecules that each have one carbon atom covalent bond, covalently double bonded to two oxygen atoms. It is found in a gas state at room temperature and at norma ...
emissions by 13.5% before 2002, and by 20% before 2006. That year, Enel acquired CHI Energy, a
renewable energy Renewable energy (also called green energy) is energy made from renewable resource, renewable natural resources that are replenished on a human lifetime, human timescale. The most widely used renewable energy types are solar energy, wind pow ...
producer operating in the US and Canadian markets, for $170 million. In the following years, Enel continued investing in renewable energy and clean technologies. In 2004, the company was included in the
Dow Jones Sustainability Index The Dow Jones Sustainability Indices (DJSI) launched in 1999, are a family of indices evaluating the sustainability performance of thousands of companies trading publicly, operated under a strategic partnership between S&P Dow Jones Indices and Ro ...
, a stock market index that evaluates the financial performance of companies based on economic, environmental, and social performance. In 2008, Enel formed
Enel Green Power Enel Green Power S.p.A. is an Italian multinational renewable energy corporation, headquartered in Rome. The company was formed as a subsidiary of the power generation firm Enel in December 2008. It has operations in five continents generating ...
, a company dedicated to developing and managing the production of power from
renewable energy Renewable energy (also called green energy) is energy made from renewable resource, renewable natural resources that are replenished on a human lifetime, human timescale. The most widely used renewable energy types are solar energy, wind pow ...
. In 2009, Enel launched the Archilede project, a new urban lighting system chosen by 1600 municipalities. This new intelligent lighting technology resulted in approximately 26 GWh per year of energy saving, and reduced
carbon dioxide Carbon dioxide is a chemical compound with the chemical formula . It is made up of molecules that each have one carbon atom covalent bond, covalently double bonded to two oxygen atoms. It is found in a gas state at room temperature and at norma ...
emissions by 18,000 tons per year. That same year, the company opened a new
photovoltaic power station A photovoltaic power station, also known as a solar park, solar farm, or solar power plant, is a large-scale grid-connected photovoltaic power system (PV system) designed for the supply of merchant power. They are different from most building ...
in the Park of
Villa di Pratolino The Villa di Pratolino was a Renaissance patrician villa in Vaglia, Tuscany, Italy. It was mostly demolished in 1822. Its remains are now part of the Villa Demidoff, 12 km north of Florence, reached from the main road to Bologna. History Th ...
, in
Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...
. The project - called "Diamante" – was to build a plant capable of storing, as hydrogen, enough of the solar energy accumulated during the day to meet night-time requirements. In 2010, the
Archimede combined cycle power plant Archimede combined cycle power plant (also known as Centrale a ciclo combinato Archimede, once Centrale Enel Priolo Gargallo) is an integrated solar combined cycle (ISCC) power generation plant at Priolo Gargallo near Syracuse in Sicily, Italy. T ...
became operational at
Priolo Gargallo Priolo Gargallo ( Sicilian: ''Priolu'') is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Syracuse, Sicily (southern Italy). It is about southeast of Palermo Palermo ( ; ; , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (po ...
, near
Syracuse Syracuse most commonly refers to: * Syracuse, Sicily, Italy; in the province of Syracuse * Syracuse, New York, USA; in the Syracuse metropolitan area Syracuse may also refer to: Places * Syracuse railway station (disambiguation) Italy * Provi ...
in
Sicily Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...
. This was the first thermal solar field to use
molten salt Molten salt is salt which is solid at standard temperature and pressure but liquified due to elevated temperature. A salt that is liquid even at standard temperature and pressure is usually called a room-temperature ionic liquid, and molten salts ...
–technology integrated with a
combined cycle A combined cycle power plant is an assembly of heat engines that work in tandem from the same source of heat, converting it into mechanical energy. On land, when used to make electricity the most common type is called a combined cycle gas turb ...
gas facility. Enel had several acquisitions and divestments in this period. In 2001, the company won the tender offer for the purchase of Viesgo—a
subsidiary A subsidiary, subsidiary company, or daughter company is a company (law), company completely or partially owned or controlled by another company, called the parent company or holding company, which has legal and financial control over the subsidia ...
of
Endesa Endesa, S.A. (, originally an initialism for ''Empresa Nacional de Electricidad, S.A''.) is a Spanish multinational electric utility company, the largest in the country. The firm, a majority-owned subsidiary of the Italian utility company Enel, ...
—a company active on the Spanish market in the production and distribution of electricity, with a net installed capacity of 2400
megawatt The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of Power (physics), power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantification (science), quantify the rate of Work ...
s. In 2002, Enel divested Eurogen SpA, Elettrogen SpA, and Interpower SpA in compliance with the Bersani Decree provisions on the liberalization of electricity production. In 2001, Enel acquired Infostrada, previously a subsidiary of
Olivetti Olivetti S.p.A. is an Italian manufacturer of computers, tablets, smartphones, printers and other such business products as calculators and fax machines. Headquartered in Ivrea, in the Metropolitan City of Turin, the company has been owned b ...
, at a cost of 7.25 billion euros. Infostrada was later merged with
Wind Wind is the natural movement of atmosphere of Earth, air or other gases relative to a planetary surface, planet's surface. Winds occur on a range of scales, from thunderstorm flows lasting tens of minutes, to local breezes generated by heatin ...
, with 17 million customers. In 2005, Enel assigned 62.75% ownership of Wind to Weather Investments, a company belonging to the Egyptian businessman
Naguib Sawiris Naguib Onsi Sawiris ( ; ; born 15 June 1954) is an Egyptian businessman. Sawiris is chairman of Weather Investments's parent company, and the former chairman and CEO of Orascom Telecom Holding and Orascom Investment Holding S.A.E. Early li ...
, at the time
CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...
of Orascom Telecom Holding (the remaining 37.25% was divested in 2006). In 2008 and 2009, Enel Stoccaggi and Enel Rete Gas were sold to investors, mainly Primo Fondo Italiano per le Infrastrutture. In 2011, Enel opened the first pilot
carbon dioxide Carbon dioxide is a chemical compound with the chemical formula . It is made up of molecules that each have one carbon atom covalent bond, covalently double bonded to two oxygen atoms. It is found in a gas state at room temperature and at norma ...
–capture facility in Italy, in the area of
Brindisi Brindisi ( ; ) is a city in the region of Apulia in southern Italy, the capital of the province of Brindisi, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. Historically, the city has played an essential role in trade and culture due to its strategic position ...
, in the existing power plant ENEL Federico II. That year, Enel Distribuzione built its first
Smart grid The smart grid is an enhancement of the 20th century electrical grid, using two-way communications and distributed so-called intelligent devices. Two-way flows of electricity and information could improve the delivery network. Research is main ...
in
Isernia Isernia () is a town and ''comune'' in the southern Italian region of Molise, and the capital of the province of Isernia. Geography Situated on a rocky crest rising from between the Carpino and the Sordo rivers, the plan of Isernia still refl ...
, a grid capable of effectively adjusting the two-way flow of electricity generated from renewable sources. The total investment for this project was 10 million. Also in 2011, Enel became part of the
United Nations Global Compact The United Nations Global Compact is a non-binding United Nations pact to get businesses and firms worldwide to adopt sustainable and socially responsible policies, and to report on their implementation. The UN Global Compact is the world's ...
, a
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...
initiative to encourage businesses to adopt sustainable policies worldwide, and signed a cooperation framework agreement with the
World Food Programme The World Food Programme (WFP) is an international organization within the United Nations that provides food assistance worldwide. It is the world's largest humanitarian organization and the leading provider of school meals. Founded in 1961 ...
, to fight against world hunger and climate change. The cost of the project was 8 million, which included the production and distribution of high-efficiency cooking stoves, the installation of
photovoltaic systems A photovoltaic system, also called a PV system or solar power system, is an electric power system designed to supply usable solar power by means of photovoltaics. It consists of an arrangement of several components, including solar panels to abso ...
in the all WFP logistical premises, and giving support to humanitarian interventions. In the same year, the company was added to the FTSE4Good Index of the
London Stock Exchange The London Stock Exchange (LSE) is a stock exchange based in London, England. the total market value of all companies trading on the LSE stood at US$3.42 trillion. Its current premises are situated in Paternoster Square close to St Paul's Cath ...
which measures businesses' behaviour in terms of environmental sustainability, relationships with stakeholders, human rights, the quality of working conditions, and fighting against corruption. In 2012, Enel sold the remaining 5.1% of Terna in its possession, thus exiting completely from the high-voltage market. In 2013, Enel signed an agreement, in
Sochi Sochi ( rus, Сочи, p=ˈsotɕɪ, a=Ru-Сочи.ogg, from  – ''seaside'') is the largest Resort town, resort city in Russia. The city is situated on the Sochi (river), Sochi River, along the Black Sea in the North Caucasus of Souther ...
, for the sale of 40% of Arctic Russia, a
joint venture A joint venture (JV) is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership, shared returns and risks, and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint ventures for one of four reasons: to acce ...
with
Eni Eni is an Italian oil and gas corporation. Eni or ENI may refer to: Businesses and organisations * Escuela Nacional de Inteligencia, the Argentine intelligence academy * Groupe des écoles nationales d’ingénieurs (Groupe ENI), a French engi ...
, which in turn controlled 49% of SeverEnergia, for $1.8 billion. In May 2014, Maria Patrizia Grieco was elected president of the
board of directors A board of directors is a governing body that supervises the activities of a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government agency. The powers, duties, and responsibilities of a board of directors are determined by government regulatio ...
; and
Francesco Starace Francesco Starace (Italian pronunciation: staˈratʃe born 1955) is an Italian business executive, from 2014 to 2023 he was CEO and general manager of Enel Group. Life In 1980 he graduated in Nuclear Engineering at the Polytechnic University ...
was appointed
CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...
. The company's main objectives were set to be the reorganisation of activities in
Iberia The Iberian Peninsula ( ), also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in south-western Europe. Mostly separated from the rest of the European landmass by the Pyrenees, it includes the territories of peninsular Spain and Continental Portugal, compri ...
and
Latin America Latin America is the cultural region of the Americas where Romance languages are predominantly spoken, primarily Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese. Latin America is defined according to cultural identity, not geogr ...
and debt reduction. In 2014, Enel—together with
Endesa Endesa, S.A. (, originally an initialism for ''Empresa Nacional de Electricidad, S.A''.) is a Spanish multinational electric utility company, the largest in the country. The firm, a majority-owned subsidiary of the Italian utility company Enel, ...
, Accelerace, and FundingBox—initiated the INCENSe program (Internet Cleantech Enablers Spark), which was co-funded by the
European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the primary Executive (government), executive arm of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with a number of European Commissioner, members of the Commission (directorial system, informall ...
, for the promotion of technological innovation in
renewable energy Renewable energy (also called green energy) is energy made from renewable resource, renewable natural resources that are replenished on a human lifetime, human timescale. The most widely used renewable energy types are solar energy, wind pow ...
, and was joined by over 250 start-ups from 30 countries in 2015. In 2014 and 2015, Enel was included in the STOXX Global ESG Governance Leaders index, an index that measures a company's environmental, social, and governance practices. Enel took part in
Expo 2015 Expo 2015 was a World's fair, World Expo hosted by Milan, Italy. It opened on May 1 at 10:00 Central European Summer Time, CEST and closed on October 31. Milan hosted an exposition for the second time; the first was the 1906 Milan Internation ...
in
Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...
as an '' Official Global Partner''. With a 29 million investment, as well as building its own pavilion, Enel built a
Smart City A smart city is an urban area that uses digital technology to collect data and operate services. Data is collected from citizens, devices, buildings, or cameras. Applications include traffic and transportation systems, power plants, utilities ...
over the entire Expo area, simulating a city of 100,000 inhabitants with a total energy consumption of 1 GWh per day. The Smart City comprised a smart grid for the distribution of electricity, an operations center for the monitoring and management of the smart grid, an information system that allowed visitors to view in real-time the electricity consumption in each pavilion,
charging stations A charging station, also known as a charge point, chargepoint, or electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE), is a power supply device that supplies electrical power for recharging plug-in electric vehicles (including battery electric vehicle ...
for
electric vehicles An electric vehicle (EV) is a motor vehicle whose propulsion is powered fully or mostly by electricity. EVs encompass a wide range of transportation modes, including road vehicle, road and rail vehicles, electric boats and Submersible, submer ...
, and
LED A light-emitting diode (LED) is a semiconductor device that emits light when current flows through it. Electrons in the semiconductor recombine with electron holes, releasing energy in the form of photons. The color of the light (corresp ...
lighting of the entire exhibition site. During 2016–2018, Enel carried out a series of operations aimed at digitising and innovating the Group, with particular attention to sustainability. In January 2016, Enel launched the “Open Power” brand, which presented the company with a new visual identity and a new logo. The concept of “openness” became the driver of the Group’s operative and communicative strategy. In June 2016, Enel presented the Enel Open Meter, the 2.0 smart meter designed to replace first-generation electronic meters. Open Meter was designed by Italian designer and architect Michele De Lucchi. In July 2016, Enel launched an Innovation Hub in Tel Aviv to scout 20 start-ups and foster collaboration, while offering a personalized support programme. In December 2016, Open Fiber completed the acquisition of Metroweb Italia for €714 million. In 2016, a hydrogen-fueled power station located in Fusina, near Venice was commissioned but only produced energy for less than two years with costs of energy production 5-6 times higher than conventional sources. In March 2017, Enel inaugurated the Innovation Hub at University of California, Berkeley, an initiative for start-up scouting and collaboration development. In April 2017, in joint venture with Dutch Infrastructure Fund, the company launched the largest “ready-to-build” solar PV project in Australia. In May 2017, Enel launched E-solutions, a new global business line to explore new technologies, as well as to develop products. In July 2017, Enel joined Formula E for the first zero-emission event in the championship’s history in New York. In September 2017, Enel ranked 20th in Fortune’s 2017 “Change the World” list and became one of the top 50 companies in the world – and the only Italian company – to have a positive social impact through business activities. In the same month, Enel and ENAP inaugurated Cerro Pabellón, the first geothermal power plant in South America and the first in the world to be built at 4,500 meters above sea level. In October 2017, the company inaugurated an Innovation Hub in Russia in collaboration with the technological hub of Skolkovo. In the same month, Enel was included in the Top 20 of Forbes World’s Best Employers List 2017 and was confirmed by the non-profit global platform CDP as a global leader in the fight against climate change. In November 2017, Enel presented E-Mobility Revolution, a plan which seeks to install 7000 recharging stations for electric vehicles by 2020. In November 2017, Enel presented the 2018-2020 strategic plan, which was characterised by a focus on digitization and new offers to customers. In December 2017, Enel and Audi signed an agreement to develop electric mobility services. In the same month, the Group launched the Enel X brand. In January 2018, Enel launched a new green bond in Europe. The issue amounted to a total of €1250 million. In January 2018, Enel was confirmed for the tenth time in the ECPI Sustainability Index series. In February 2018, it received the 2018 Ethical Boardroom Corporate Governance award for sustainability and corporate governance standards. In February 2018, Enel became title sponsor of the FIM MotoE World Cup, as well as Sustainable Power Partner of the MotoGP. In March 2018, it invested $170 million in the construction of Peru’s largest solar PV plant. In May 2018, Enel became a partner of the Osmose project for the development of integrated systems and services in the renewable energy industry. In the same month, the company inaugurated Global Thermal Generation Innovation Hub&Lab in Pisa, a space for the development of innovative technologies of interest to thermal generation. In May 2018, Enel won the final round of the tender offer for the acquisition of Eletropaulo. At the end of March 2019, Enel became the most valuable company on the Italian Stock Exchange, with a capitalisation of over €67 billion. On 23 September, the company was included in the STOXX Europe 50 index. That same year, Enel's CEO Francesco Starace was awarded the "Manager Utility Energia 2019" prize by the Management delle Utilities e delle Infrastrutture (MUI) Italian magazine. In April 2022, Enel X Way was launched. It is the new business line of the Group and aims to accelerate the development of electric mobility and combine decarbonization, digitalization and electrification. The initiative was presented by CEO Elisabetta Ripa at Rome's Formula E Grand Prix. On May 22, 2023, Enel subsidiary Enel North America announced the Tulsa Port of Inola as the future site of one of the largest solar cell and panel manufacturing plants in the U.S. Enel expects to invest over $1 billion in the facility, creating 1,000 permanent jobs with the possibility of creating another 900 in a second phase. Oklahoma officials have called this the biggest economic development project in the state. Enel is also active through 3Sun at the Catania Gigafactory, for which it signed a grant agreement with the European Commission in April 2022 under the first call of the EU Innovation Fund for large-scale projects. The project supports the development of TANGO (iTaliAN pv Giga factOry), which involves the construction of an industrial-scale plant for the production of advanced, sustainable, high-efficiency photovoltaic modules at the Catania Gigafactory. The expansion will increase production capacity from 200 MW to 3 GW per year, a fifteenfold growth. In June 2022, Enel completed its exit from the Russian market by signing two agreements for the sale of its stake in PJSC Enel Russia. Specifically, one sale contract was signed with PJSC Lukoil and another with the Closed Combined Mutual Investment Fund “Gazprombank-Frezia”. The divested stake, representing 56.43% of Enel Russia’s share capital, was sold for approximately €137 million. Through this transaction, Enel fully disposed of its electricity generation assets in Russia, including around 5.6 GW of conventional capacity and approximately 300 MW of wind power facilities at various stages of development. On 10 May 2023, Enel’s shareholders’ meeting approved the appointment of Paolo Scaroni as Chairman of the Board of Directors. On 12 May 2023, the newly appointed Board of Directors, chaired by Paolo Scaroni, held its first meeting. During the session, the Board appointed Flavio Cattaneo as CEO and General Manager. On 25 October 2023, through Enel Green Power, Enel finalized the sale of its assets in Romania to the Greek company Public Power Corporation S.A. The transaction was completed in accordance with the sale agreement signed on 9 March 2023. In May 2024, Enel announced the completion of the sale of its stakes in the power generation companies Enel Generación Perú and Compañía Energética Veracruz to Niagara Energy. The transaction was carried out through Enel Perú, which is controlled by Enel via the publicly listed Chilean company Enel Américas. The following month, Enel also finalized the sale of its entire shareholding in Enel Distribución Perú and Enel X Perú. This transaction was concluded with North Lima Power Grid Holding, a company controlled by China Southern Power Grid International (HK) Co. In September 2023, Enel transferred 50% of its stake in Enel Green Power Australia to INPEX, establishing a joint ownership for the company. In December 2023, Enel, through Enel Green Power, completed the sale of 50% of its subsidiary Enel Green Power Hellas to Macquarie Asset Management. The deal led to the formation of a joint venture between the two parties to jointly manage Enel Green Power Hellas’s existing renewable generation portfolio and continue its development pipeline. In December 2024, Potentia Energy was established as a co-managed venture between Enel Green Power and INPEX, aimed at advancing renewable energy projects. The development pipeline includes more than 7 GW of planned capacity in wind, solar, energy storage, and hybrid systems.


Controversies


Osage Wind LLC

Osage Wind dug foundations for wind turbines, crushed the rock and returned the dust to the earth. On 11 November 2014, the United States Attorney for the Northern District of Oklahoma filed suit against Enel's subsidiary Osage Wind LLC, an 84-turbine industrial wind project in Osage County, Okla. In the suit, the United States alleges that Enel and Osage Wind are illegally converting minerals owned by the
Osage Nation The Osage Nation ( ) () is a Midwestern Native American nation of the Great Plains. The tribe began in the Ohio and Mississippi river valleys around 1620 A.D along with other groups of its language family, then migrated west in the 17th cen ...
, a Native American tribe that has owned all mineral rights in the county since 1871. The suit says that Osage Wind should have obtained a permit from the
Bureau of Indian Affairs The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), also known as Indian Affairs (IA), is a United States List of United States federal agencies, federal agency within the U.S. Department of the Interior, Department of the Interior. It is responsible for im ...
before mining rock and other material for the pits in which turbine bases are built. The United States asked that all excavating on the 8,500-acre site cease and that dozens of turbines that are already being erected be removed. Osage Wind has insisted that it is not mining and needs no permit. The company says that it has already spent nearly $300 million on the project, which is being built on privately owned fee land, not land held in trust for American Indians. Osage Wind LLC and a second and adjacent Enel wind project, Mustang Run, are also embroiled in cases pending before the Oklahoma Supreme Court in which the Osage Nation and
Osage County, Oklahoma Osage County () is the largest county by area in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Created in 1907 when Oklahoma was admitted as a state, the county is named for and is home to the federally recognized Osage Nation. The county is coextensive with t ...
, are challenging the constitutional legitimacy of permits for both projects. In December 2024,
United States Court of International Trade The United States Court of International Trade (case citations: Ct. Int'l Trade), or CIT, is a U.S. federal court that adjudicates civil actions arising out of U.S. customs and international trade laws. Seated in Lower Manhattan, New York City, ...
Judge Jennifer Choe-Groves ruled the defendants "liable for conversion, trespass and continuing trespass of the Osage Mineral Estate" and ordered Enel to remove all of the turbines by December 2025. Choe-Groves ruled Enel had "committed trespass by extracting minerals from the Osage illegally," and ordered Enel in addition to pay $300,000 in damages and millions in legal fees. Enel immediately appealed the ruling.


El Salvador

Enel had to exit the
El Salvador El Salvador, officially the Republic of El Salvador, is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south by the Pacific Ocean. El Salvador's capital and largest city is S ...
electricity market after a long dispute with the Government of El Salvador. Article 109 of the
Constitution of El Salvador The current constitution of El Salvador was enacted in 1983 and amended in 2003. The 1983 constitution of El Salvador is similar to that of 1962, often incorporating verbatim passages from the earlier document. The constitution consists of 11 ...
states that underground natural resources are the country's property and the government should not allow a foreign company to be the sole proprietor of geothermic generation. Both parties came to a settlement in 2014, but no details have been released.


Slovakia

Enel had been demanding over €94 million from the Ministry of Economy of Slovakia in compensation for lost earnings it claims to have incurred as price proposals were rejected by the Slovakian Regulatory Office for Network Industries (URSO).


Meeting with Vladimir Putin immediately prior to 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine

In early 2022, Enel and acting CEO
Francesco Starace Francesco Starace (Italian pronunciation: staˈratʃe born 1955) is an Italian business executive, from 2014 to 2023 he was CEO and general manager of Enel Group. Life In 1980 he graduated in Nuclear Engineering at the Polytechnic University ...
came under criticism for meeting in person with acting
President of Russia The president of Russia, officially the president of the Russian Federation (), is the executive head of state of Russia. The president is the chair of the State Council (Russia), Federal State Council and the President of Russia#Commander-in-ch ...
Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who has served as President of Russia since 2012, having previously served from 2000 to 2008. Putin also served as Prime Minister of Ru ...
to discuss massive Russian investments and sanction exemptions, just over a week prior to the
2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...
.


Production and service capacities

Enel produces electricity from a number of energy sources including
geothermal Geothermal is related to energy and may refer to: * Geothermal energy, useful energy generated and stored in the Earth * Geothermal activity, the range of natural phenomena at or near the surface, associated with release of the Earth's internal he ...
,
wind power Wind power is the use of wind energy to generate useful work. Historically, wind power was used by sails, windmills and windpumps, but today it is mostly used to generate electricity. This article deals only with wind power for electricity ge ...
,
solar power Solar power, also known as solar electricity, is the conversion of energy from sunlight into electricity, either directly using photovoltaics (PV) or indirectly using concentrated solar power. Solar panels use the photovoltaic effect to c ...
,
hydroelectric power Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is Electricity generation, electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies 15% of the world's electricity, almost 4,210 TWh in 2023, which is more than all other Renewable energ ...
, thermal, and
nuclear power Nuclear power is the use of nuclear reactions to produce electricity. Nuclear power can be obtained from nuclear fission, nuclear decay and nuclear fusion reactions. Presently, the vast majority of electricity from nuclear power is produced by ...
. In 2024, Enel generated a total of 192 
TWh TWH or twh could refer to: * Tai Dón language, a language of Vietnam, Laos, and China * Tai Wo Hau station, Hong Kong; MTR station code * Tennessee Walking Horse, a breed of horse * Toronto Western Hospital, a hospital in Toronto, Canada * Tun ...
of electricity, distributed 481.2 TWh, and sold 273.5 TWh. Enel is also engaged in research and development activities for the production and transmission of electricity. These include: *the design and implementation of "hybrid plants" that combine the use of different sources and technologies for energy storage, in order to increase the efficiency of plants. *the development of smart grids that increase efficiency and sustainability in the distribution of electricity, with the support of the European Community.


Corporate organisation

Enel is headquartered in
Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...
and has been listed on the
Borsa Italiana Borsa Italiana () or Borsa di Milano (), based in Milan at Palazzo Mezzanotte, Mezzanotte Palace, is the Italy, Italian stock exchange. It manages and organises domestic market, regulating procedures for admission and listing of companies and i ...
since 1999. Enel and its subsidiaries produce and distribute electricity and gas in 28 countries around
Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
,
North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...
,
South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...
,
Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...
, and
Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...
. The company employs more than 60,000 people, has more than 61 million customers worldwide (54.9 million in the electricity market, and 6.2 million in the gas market) and a net installed generating capacity of 88 GW. Enel is the largest energy company in Europe by number of customers and the second by capacity, after
EdF EDF may refer to: Organisations * Eclaireurs de France, a French Scouting association * Électricité de France, a French energy company ** EDF Energy, their British subsidiary ** EDF Luminus, their Belgian subsidiary * Environmental Defense Fund, ...
. The Enel Group is organised in 4 business lines: *
Enel Green Power Enel Green Power S.p.A. is an Italian multinational renewable energy corporation, headquartered in Rome. The company was formed as a subsidiary of the power generation firm Enel in December 2008. It has operations in five continents generating ...
and Thermal Generation: electricity generation. * Enel Grids: transport infrastructure and energy distribution. * Global Energy and Commodity Management: provides Enel Group companies, as well as third parties, both with goods to be used in power plants and with optimisation services for energy production and distribution. * Enel X Global Retail: provides value-added services.


Subsidiaries

For trading on international markets, as well as for the procurement and sale of energy products including gas, Enel owns 100% of Enel Trade, which in turn owns 100% of Enel Trade Romania, Enel Trade Croatia, and Enel Trade Serbia. Through Enel Trade, Enel also owns Nuove Energie, a company that specialises in the construction of
regasification Regasification is a process of converting liquefied natural gas (LNG) at −162 °C (−260 °F) temperature back to natural gas at atmospheric temperature. LNG gasification plants can be located on land as well as on floating barges, i.e. a Float ...
plants. In
Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
, Enel owns companies that produce, distribute and resell electricity: * 100% of Enel Energia – which deals with the sale of electricity and natural gas on the free market and to end customers. Enel Energia also owns 100% of Enel.si, a company that offers
renewable energy Renewable energy (also called green energy) is energy made from renewable resource, renewable natural resources that are replenished on a human lifetime, human timescale. The most widely used renewable energy types are solar energy, wind pow ...
to end customers and franchises "Punto Enel Green Power". * 100% of ''e-distribuzione'' – for the distribution of electricity. * 100% of Enel Sole – which deals with public and artistic lighting. In
France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
, Enel owns 5% of the French energy exchange
Powernext Powernext SA, incorporated in 2001, is a regulated market operating under AMF supervision. Based in Paris, Powernext manages the natural gas activities of the EEX Group under the PEGAS brand throughout Europe, and operates the National Registry f ...
. In
Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
, through its subsidiary Enel Iberia Srl (previously known as Enel Energy Europe), Enel holds 70.1% of
Endesa Endesa, S.A. (, originally an initialism for ''Empresa Nacional de Electricidad, S.A''.) is a Spanish multinational electric utility company, the largest in the country. The firm, a majority-owned subsidiary of the Italian utility company Enel, ...
, acquired in 2009 with an initial stake of 92%. The acquisition earned Enel the 2009 Platts Global Energy Award for "Deal of the Year". In 2016, Endesa acquired Enel Green Power España from Enel for €1.207 billion. Enel has been operating in
Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
since 2004. It owns 56.4% of Enel Russia (formerly OGK-5) and 49.5% of the electricity supplier RusEnergoSbyt, through Enel Investment Holding BV. In 2013,
Rosneft PJSC Rosneft Oil Company ( stylized as ROSNEFT) is a Russian integrated energy company headquartered in Moscow. Rosneft specializes in the exploration, extraction, production, refining, transport, and sale of petroleum, natural gas, and pet ...
, through NGK Itera, bought 40% of Enel's stake in Arctic Russia BV, a company which owned 19.6% of SeverEnergia. In March 2022, Enel announced it will cease operations in Russia. In
Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...
, Enel holds a 41% share of Empresa Distribuidora Sur SA. In
Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...
, Enel controls 61.99% of Empresa Electrica Panguipulli SA, 56.80% of
Enel Américas Enel Americas is a conglomerate of electric energy companies operating in South America and Central America countries: Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Peru, Costa Rica, Panama and Guatemala. Through its affiliates it generates, transmits and distrib ...
SA, 61.4% of Distribución Chile SA, 57.9% of Generación Chile SA, 61.9% of Enel Green Power Chile Ltd, 61.9% of Enel Green Power del Sur SpA, and 58.0% of Gas Atacama Chile SA. In October 2023, it was announced Enel Chile had sold 416 MW of solar PV portfolio in Chile, to the multinational renewable energy producer, Sonnedix. In
Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...
, through Enel Perù SAC, Enel controls 47.2% of Enel Distribución Perù SAA and 47.5% of Enel Generación Perú SA. On 7 April 2023, Enel announced that its subsidiary Enel Perú S.A.C. – controlled through the Chilean publicly traded company Enel Américas S.A. – entered into an agreement with China Southern Power Grid International (HK) Co., Ltd. for the sale of its equity interests in Enel Distribución Perú S.A.A. and in Enel X Perú S.A.C., for an aggregate amount of around 2.9 billion US dollars. On 22 November 2023, Enel also announced that its subsidiaries Enel Américas S.A. and Enel Perú S.A.C. – the latter under the control of Enel via the Chilean listed company Enel Américas – have finalized an agreement with Niagara Energy S.A.C. for the sale of all the shares held by Enel in Enel Generación Perú S.A.A. and Compañía Energética Veracruz S.A.C. The total value of the transaction was approximately 1.4 billion US dollars.


See also

*
Electricity sector in Italy Italy's total electricity consumption was 302.75 terawatt-hour (TWh) in 2020, of which 270.55 TWh (89.3%) was produced domestically and the remaining 10.7% was imported. Italy has a high share of electricity in the total final energy consumption. ...
*
Energy in Italy Energy in Italy comes mostly from fossil fuels. Among the most used resources are petroleum (mostly used for the transport sector), natural gas (used for electric energy production and heating), coal and renewables. Italy has few energy resourc ...
*
List of companies of Italy Italy is a unitary parliamentary republic in Europe with the third largest nominal GDP in the Eurozone and the eighth largest in the world. As an advanced economy, the country also has the sixth worldwide national wealth and it is ranked third ...


References


External links

* {{authority control Italian companies established in 1962 1999 initial public offerings Companies based in Rome Companies formerly listed on the New York Stock Exchange Companies in the Euro Stoxx 50 Companies in the FTSE MIB Conglomerate companies of Italy Electrical engineering companies of Italy Energy companies established in 1962 Energy companies of Italy Government-owned companies of Italy Italian brands Multinational companies headquartered in Italy Natural gas companies of Italy Non-renewable resource companies established in 1962 Oil and gas companies of Italy Partly privatized companies of Italy Electric power companies of Italy Renewable energy companies of Europe Renewable energy companies of Italy Renewable resource companies established in 1981 Government-owned energy companies