How is your legal team organised, and how has covid impacted your organisation?

The team in Enel Italia comprehends circa 90 professionals, most of them based in Rome. We also have regional offices in different areas, covering the entire territory. We experimented with new and more flexible ways of working during the pandemic. Thanks to the modern technology and the resilience of Enel Group, we quickly adapted to remote work. Flexibility is probably one of the positive aspects of Covid-19; we are now consolidating a work approach that is not linked to territoriality but based on the needs of our business lines. One of the negative consequences of the pandemic was undoubtedly the lack of social interactions and informal conversation with colleagues — the human aspect is essential to any organisation.

What are the most important cases or transactions your legal team has been involved in recently?

With Enel’s commitment to a drastic reduction in CO2 emissions and the fight against global warming, the group is constantly working towards the energy transition with a growing focus on carbon-free activities, innovation and sustainability. We believe that it is essential not just to embrace change but lead it. The Italian legal team plays a fundamental role in supporting the business for energy efficiency and electrification, enabling change through reliable, digitised and resilient networks.

We have been involved in several M&A transactions. We acquired the entire share capital of ERG Hydro, which amounted to circa €1m. It has served our current strategic plan, contributing to increasing Enel’s renewable capacity in Italy. Among the most significant transactions, there is the acquisition of Maty Energia – a photovoltaic project to be built in Manfredonia. Thanks to the clearance from the antitrust authority to Enel green power, we have been able to purchase Agatos green power Trino – a photovoltaic project and environmental compensation interventions in the province of Vercelli.

Furthermore, a remarkable agreement was signed with Federdistribuzione, which aimed to diffuse electric mobility by installing charging points to recharge cars in major commercial areas.

The Italian legal team in Enel has had a crucial role in closing the agreement with Volkswagen, establishing a joint venture for electric mobility, aimed at building a high-power charging infrastructure consisting of 3,000 charging points in Italy. Moreover, an agreement between Enel and A2A will allow its customers access to a network of about 15 thousand charging points of the two companies throughout the country.

We have also been involved in many activities related to the capacity market system implemented in Italy. These are some of the operations where the legal team supported the business lines to achieve important goals for the group and the country.