The Andalusian Energy Agency applies artificial intelligence to control more than 70,000 electricity bills a year

The Andalusian Energy Agency (Agencia Andaluza de la Energía) is a public body integrated into the Andalusian Regional Government. It is responsible for implementing and monitoring the Andalusian Energy Plan, and coordinates regional energy policies defined in the Andalusian Energy Strategy, Horizon 2030. Within the SMARTeeSTORY project, the Agency contributes to the development and validation of the demo site in Granada and assesses the replicability of the proposed solutions in other historic buildings owned by the Regional Government of Andalusia.

In this blog post, the Agency shares her experience about leveraging Artificial Intelligence (IA) to control electricity bills.

The Andalusian Governing Council has been informed by the Ministry of Industry, Energy and Mines of the application of big data and artificial intelligence to optimise the energy demand of the Andalusian Government (Junta de Andalucía).

This is achieved through the process of loading and validating more than 70,000 electricity bills per year, with an expenditure of around 250 million euros. This task is carried out by the Andalusian Energy Agency (AEA), attached to the Ministry of Industry, Energy and Mines, as manager of the Energy Network of the Administration of the Junta de Andalucía (Redeja).

Now, thanks to artificial intelligence, this validation has been extended with the realisation of analyses focused on achieving greater energy and economic savings of the 5,200 supply points of the Junta de Andalucía. The electricity supply points include

• Hospitals and health centers,
• sports facilities and  senior and day centers,
• museums and universities or secondary schools,
• judicial headquarters, administrative offices,
• including historical buildings.

How the AEA Uses AI and Big Data

The technicians of the AEA, in charge of carrying out the checks to ensure that the amount that the Andalusian Government pays in its electricity bill is in accordance with the consumption made, and adapts to the needs of the different buildings and facilities. They take advantage of applications based on big data, machine learning and artificial intelligence to advance in the objective of optimizing the energy demand of the Andalusian Government. To this end, they have developed algorithms using utilities extension for electronic invoicing , which includes technical and economic information at monitored facilities.

The Andalusian Government has been a pioneer in the use of utilities extension in its electricity billing processes. Thanks to the application of data mining, an automated procedure now identifies:

• unusual high consumption,
• costs that do not correspond to the reality of the supply,
• possible causes and corrective actions when appropriate.

For example, if billing is based on prolonged estimated consumption, the AEA requests actual meter readings to avoid overpayments and re-invoicing.

Monitoring Self-Consumption and Renewables

Due to the growth of self-consumption facilities, the AEA is developing algorithms to:

• Monitor photovoltaic equipment performance
• Detect faults or breakdowns
• Estimate renewable energy generation
• Ensure proper billing for surplus energy fed into the grid

Another measure is the optimisation of the contracted electrical power for the different supply points. of the Andalusian Government, adapting them to the real needs of consumption, so that they cover all their energy demand, but avoiding unnecessary surcharges. Previously, this required processing 60 million records, sometimes extracting data every 15 minutes for a year. Now, a new algorithm processes this data more efficiently, quickly identifying supplies that can be optimised.

All these actions of the Andalusian Energy Agency are part of the Plan for Energy Saving of the Administration of the Junta de Andalucía 2026, approved by the Governing Council in May 2023.

Working group at Spanish level

Thus, the Andalucian Government’s early adoption of the utilities extension has led to its participation in a specialized working group launched through the Association of Spanish Energy Management Agencies (EnerAgen), which currently chairs the Andalusian Energy Agency.

The goal of the working group is to expand the standard electronic invoice format and define the utilities extension for national approval. In this regard, in June 2025, the AEA participated in the meeting with representatives of the General State Intervention (Intervención General del  Estado),  the General Directorate of Rationalisation and  Centralisation of Contracts ( the Dirección General de Racionalización y Centralización de la Contratación) and the Association of Electricity Energy Companies (  Asociación de Empresas de Energía Eléctrica , AELEC) to present to them the consensus version of the extension of utilities obtained within the EnerAgen working group. This is a first step towards it becoming a single invoice model to be used by all electricity marketers.

REDEJA: A Model for Energy Governance

The Energy Network of the Junta de Andalucía (REDEJA) was created as a key instrument to implement the objectives of the Andalusian Energy Sustainability Plan. Its initial purpose was to lead by example in promoting savings, efficiency and the use of renewable energies in the consumption of the administration itself. Its creation not only reflects the firm commitment of the Andalucían Government to efficiency and sustainability, but also establishes a rigorous control framework over energy expenditure.

Since then, REDEJA has established itself as a pioneering digital infrastructure in the centralised energy management of energy consumption in public buildings. Currently, it centrally manages the contracting of more than 5,200 supply points with a 100% renewable origin guarantee. This ranges from administrative headquarters, health and educational centers, to historical buildings of great heritage value, such as palaces, archives and museums, whose integration represents a remarkable technical challenge that has been masterfully resolved to preserve its value without compromising modernisation.

Potential for Replicability and Governance

The REDEJA model offers considerable advantages that make it a reference for other European regions. Centralised management and digitalisation of consumption lead to a substantial reduction in public spending and an improvement in environmental sustainability, by reducing the carbon footprint and promoting renewable procurement by the public administration.

REDEJA is not just a technological infrastructure: it is also a governance model. The Andalusian Energy Agency, manages the network centrally to ensure a unified vision and application. Collaboration with other consultancies and autonomous bodies is constant, allowing a comprehensive and adaptable approach to the needs of each type of property.

At REDEJA, we work from energy innovation to a sustainable and efficient energy future.

Authors:

María Luisa BORRA MARCOS
Joaquín VILLAR RODRIGUEZ
Organisation: Andalusian Energy Agency, Ministry of Industry, Energy and Mines, Junta de Andalucía
Photo Credits: The headquarters building of the Andalusian Energy Agency. Copyright of the Andalusian Energy Agency (AEA)