The Italian Authority for Electricity and Gas has awarded Enel Distribuzione a net bonus of more than E160 million for the quality of its electricity service in 2006. This is up 35% compared with the E118 million granted in 2005, out of a total of E165 million disbursed in incentives.
Enel said that despite a new calculation mechanism that includes interruptions previously attributed to external causes, the average total length of interruptions for Enel customers fell from 63 minutes in 2005 to 51 minutes in 2006, compared with a target of 79 minutes set by the Authority for Electricity and Gas.
According to Enel, the result is the outcome of the substantial investments that the firm has made in its network, which amount to around E9.6 billion between 2000 and 2006.
Enel said that southern Italy experienced a sharp improvement in the quality of electricity service in 2006, with an average decrease in the duration of interruptions of 16 minutes. In central Italy, the average total duration of interruptions fell by nearly 20 minutes. Record results were also seen in the north, with an average of 34 minutes of service interruptions per customer.