Bills, what the Antitrust has decided on energy companies
Partial confirmation by the Agcm of the provisions on the energy companies Enel, Eni, Edison, Acea and Engie. Instead, revoked from Hera and A2A for alleged illegitimate unilateral changes in the price of electricity and natural gas supply
Stop the price increases for Enel, Eni, Edison, Acea and Engie for contracts not due by the Antitrust.
Indeed, the Antitrust has confirmed, even if only partially, the precautionary measures issued on December 12 against Enel, Eni, Edison, Acea and Engie, for alleged illegitimate unilateral changes to the economic conditions for the supply of electricity and natural gas .
This was announced today by a note from the Competition and Market Authority (Agcm) explaining that the measures "are in line with the principles expressed by the Council of State in the ordinance of 22 December 2022".
Retracing the steps in the story, last October the Antitrust challenged seven energy companies, Enel, Eni, Hera, A2A, Edison, Acea, Engie, for increases in bills communicated to consumers. Iren, against the precautionary provision issued by the Agcm, appealed to the Council of State which, overturning the decision of the Antitrust, considered the increases communicated within the foreseen times to be legitimate, and once the contract expired, Radiocor summarizes.
In the same communication, the antitrust authority chaired by Roberto Rustichelli declared that it had instead revoked the precautionary measures against Hera and A2A.
Now the five energy companies will have five days to start the execution of the suspension measures.
All the details.
WHAT THE ANTITRUST HAS ESTABLISHED
In practice, the Council of State has limited the stop to suspensions to contracts that have not expired and not to contractual renewals resulting from deadlines agreed by the parties. Therefore the Authority confirmed the precautionary measures against Enel, Eni, Edison, Acea and Engie suspending the effectiveness of all communications of unilateral changes and/or renewal/update/change of the economic conditions of the offer of permanent contracts , without a clear, effective and predetermined or predeterminable deadline.
EXCLUDING HERA AND A2A
The antitrust said it had found evidence that Hera and A2A had changed prices only for contracts that had expired or were about to expire, meaning they no longer had reason to investigate.
However, Eni, Enel, Edison, Acea and Engie remain under investigation for the alleged improper fixing of the price.
WHAT ENI, ENEL, EDISON, ACEA AND ENGIE SHOULD DO
Therefore the latter will not be able to vary the economic conditions of supplies to consumers, condominiums and micro-enterprises that do not have an effective deadline. Within five days, Enel, Eni, Edison, Acea and Engie will have to notify the Authority of the successful execution of the suspension provisions. With reference to the companies Hera and A2A, the Authority has not recognized the details for the confirmation of the related precautionary measures given that, on the basis of the documents acquired, it appears that the changes communicated by the same concerned economic offers actually expiring.
ANTITRUST DECISION AFTER THE GOVERNMENT'S MOVE
The decision comes after the Italian government returned to the matter this week, allowing utilities to proceed with changes to expiring gas and electricity supply contracts that the Antitrust had previously suspended.
Any contractual clause that allows the electricity and natural gas supplier company to unilaterally modify the general conditions of the contract will not be effective until 30 June 2023. This is established by a regulation pertaining to the Ministry of the Environment and Energy Security contained in the One thousand extensions. The provision, the note recalls, wanted by the government extends by a further two months, from 30 April to the new deadline of June, the deadline for applying the rule contained in the 'Aiuti bis' decree. 'The regulation aims at a double objective: to protect citizens and consumers in these difficult months and at the same time guarantee and protect the economic initiative of those companies most exposed to the persistence of the instability of the energy markets”, specifies the minister Gilberto Pichetto.
“As Mase and as a Government, the commitment to support families and entrepreneurs in this difficult situation is maximum. I thank the president of the Antitrust Rustichelli who pointed out the matter allowing us to collaborate in resolving the problem'. In more detail, the new regulation clarifies that the suspension of unilateral changes does not apply to those clauses which allow for the updating of the contractual economic conditions upon expiry of the same, in compliance with the terms of notice and without prejudice to the right of withdrawal of the counterparty. A clarification necessary to also protect supplier companies, which in the face of increases in natural gas prices 'almost 7 times compared to the average of recent years', would be forced to 'sell energy for the next few months at a price significantly lower than that of purchase.
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/energia/bollette-cosa-ha-deciso-antitrust-sulle-societa-energetiche/ on Fri, 30 Dec 2022 14:21:29 +0000.