The Comisión Nacional de los Mercados y la Competencia (CNMC) has conducted its first verification of the net cost associated with the Universal Postal Service (SPU) provided by Correos, determining the compensation for the year 2011 to be 159 million euros. This amount is adjusted against the payments Correos has already received for this service.

The SPU encompasses a range of postal services that must be consistently available across the country, adhering to specific quality standards and affordable pricing for users. Correos is compensated for the additional costs incurred in fulfilling these public service obligations, referred to as the 'unjust financial burden.'

The CNMC quantified this unjust financial burden at 159,329,840 euros, a reduction from the 171,592,978 euros initially calculated by Correos. Additionally, a penalty of 40,604 euros was imposed for failing to meet the required quality objectives, leading to a final compensation amount of 159,289,235 euros for 2011, with a remaining balance of 1,119,488,025 euros for future settlements.

Since the Postal Law came into effect in 2011, the CNMC has had the authority to verify the net cost and determine the unjust financial burden of the SPU. However, it was unable to exercise this authority until a calculation methodology was approved by the Council of Ministers in June 2021. Following Correos' submissions for the years 2011 to 2020, the CNMC identified methodological issues that were highlighted in a recent report, suggesting a conservative adjustment impact of around 14% on the total amount calculated by Correos for the 2011-2020 period. The CNMC also recommended revising the methodology for future verifications starting from 2021.