Spain’s competition regulator has announced it will launch a probe to investigate the sudden spike in energy prices that hit the country in January, with a focus on alleged irregularities in the natural gas market. Spanish homes were hit with a 9% rise in energy prices over the month, causing some anger.
The CNMC has asked Gas Natural Fenosa, Spain’s leading gas distributor, to provide information regarding their sales and purchases, as well as analysing its closest competitor, ENDESA. The commission will try to determine whether the fuel had been exported at previously fixed prices, while imports were brought in at higher ‘spot’ prices, which would raise costs.
The price in energy bills is the result of highly complex calculations, with the challenge for the CNMC being to unravel which factors contributed to the price spike, and whether these obey the normal functioning of the market. The CNMC has said it will focus on gas purchases and sales dating to November, which may have impacted January’s prices. Among other signs of wrong-doing, the regulator will look for possible shipment delays and whether the companies had adequate reserves in order to avoid dipping into emergency pricing.
Full Content: El Mundo
Want more news? Subscribe to CPI’s free daily newsletter for more headlines and updates on antitrust developments around the world.
Featured News
FTC Pushes Review of CoStar’s Commercial Real Estate Antitrust Case
Jan 31, 2024 by
CPI
UK’s CMA Investigates Ardonagh’s Atlanta Group and Markerstudy Merger
Jan 31, 2024 by
CPI
Greenberg Traurig Grow Financial Regulatory and Compliance Practice
Jan 31, 2024 by
CPI
Dutch Regulator Fines Uber €10 Million for Privacy Violations
Jan 31, 2024 by
CPI
DOJ Investigates AI Competition, Eyes Microsoft’s OpenAI Deal: Bloomberg
Jan 31, 2024 by
CPI
Antitrust Mix by CPI
Antitrust Chronicle® – The Rule(s) of Reason
Jan 29, 2024 by
CPI
Evolving the Rule of Reason for Legacy Business Conduct
Jan 29, 2024 by
CPI
The Object Identity
Jan 29, 2024 by
CPI
In Praise of Rules-Based Antitrust
Jan 29, 2024 by
CPI
The Future of State AG Antitrust Enforcement and Federal-State Cooperation
Jan 29, 2024 by
CPI