Judgment of the General Court of 3 December 2014 — Castelnou Energía v Commission
(Case T-57/11) 1
(State Aid — Electricity — Compensation of additional production costs — Public service obligation to produce certain volumes of electricity from indigenous coal — Preferential dispatch mechanism — Decision not to raise objections — Decision declaring the aid compatible with the internal market — Action for annulment — Individual concern — Significant effect on a competitive position — Admissibility — Failure to initiate the formal review procedure — Serious difficulties — Service of general economic interest — Security of electricity supply — Article 11(4) of Directive 2003/54/EC — Free movement of goods — Protection of the environment — Directive 2003/87/EC)
Language of the case: Spanish
Parties
Applicant: Castelnou Energía, SL (Madrid, Spain) (represented initially by: E. Garayar Gutiérrez, subsequently by: C. Fernández Vicién, A. Pereda Miquel and C. del Pozo de la Cuadra, then by: C. Fernández Vicién, L. Pérez de Ayala Becerril and D. Antón Vega, and finally by: C. Fernández Vicién, L. Pérez de Ayala Becerril and C. Vila Gisbert, lawyers)
Defendant: European Commission (represented by: É. Gippini Fournier and C. Urraca Caviedes, acting as Agents)
Intervener in support of the applicant: Greenpeace-España (Madrid, Spain) (represented initially by: N. Ersbøll, S. Rating and A. Criscuolo, and subsequently by: N. Ersbøll and S. Rating, lawyers)
Interveners in support of the defendant: Kingdom of Spain (represented initially by: J. Rodríguez Cárcamo, subsequently by: M. Muñoz Pérez and N. Díaz Abad, then by: N. Díaz Abad and S. Centeno Huerta, and finally by: A. Rubio González and M. Sampol Pucurull, abogados del Estado); Hidroeléctrica del Cantábrico, SA (Oviedo, Spain) (represented by: J. Álvarez de Toledo Saavedra and J. Portomeñe López, lawyers); E.ON Generación, SL (Santander, Spain) (represented initially by: E. Sebastián de Erice Malo de Molina and S. Rodríguez Bajón, and subsequently by: S. Rodríguez Bajón, lawyers); Comunidad Autónoma de Castilla y León (represented initially by: K. Desai, Solicitor, S. Cisnal de Ugarte and M. Peristeraki, lawyers, and subsequently by: S. Cisnal de Ugarte); and Federación Nacional de Empresarios de Minas de Carbón (Carbunión) (Madrid, Spain) (represented initially by: K. Desai, Solicitor, S. Cisnal de Ugarte and M. Peristeraki, lawyers, and subsequently by: S. Cisnal de Ugarte and A. Baumann, lawyers)
Re:
Application for annulment of Commission Decision C(2010) 4499 of 29 September 2010, concerning State aid N178/2010 notified by the Kingdom of Spain in the form of a public service compensation linked to a preferential dispatch mechanism for indigenous coal power plants.
Operative part of the judgment
The Court:
Dismisses the application;
Orders Castelnou Energía, SL to bear its own costs and to pay the costs incurred by the European Commission ;
Orders the Kingdom of Spain, Greenpeace-España, Hidroeléctrica del Cantábrico, SA, E.ON Generación, SL, la Comunidad Autónoma de Castilla y León and la Federación Nacional de Empresarios de Minas de Carbón (Carbunión) to bear their own costs.
________________________1 OJ C 80, 12.3.2011.