The Federal Cartel Office in Bonn has initiated the first abuse proceedings against energy supply companies that may have demanded excessive reimbursements from the state because of the energy price brakes.
It is a two-digit number of gas suppliers, said the President of the Cartel Office, Andreas Mundt. “We have indications that the underlying prices could not be objectively justified to end customers.”
The energy price brakes for gas and district heating as well as for electricity have been in effect since March, retrospectively also for January and February. The state thus caps the price for gas, district heating and electricity for 80 percent of consumption – and pays the suppliers the difference to the market price.
From the outset, there were fears that companies could take advantage of this and charge prices above the market price.
The Cartel Office had therefore set up a new department; in suspicious cases, it checks whether prices have been increased unjustifiably. Violations can be punished with fines; Compensation payments obtained illegally must be reimbursed by companies.
Mundt announced on Monday that further proceedings would also be initiated against suppliers in the areas of district heating and electricity. He emphasized: “Although there is no general suspicion, in future we will subject all application data on compensation payments from the applicant companies to a regular systematic examination.” (AFP)
