Alex Trelinski
SPAIN is investigating 35 electricity companies over allegedly selling cheap power at hiked prices to French buyers.
The probe has been launched by Spain’s competition watchdog, the CNMC.
The body is looking into potential breaches of rules protecting the integrity and transparency of European wholesale energy markets, known as REMIT.
The El Pais newspaper says that the retailers are suspected of taking advantage of subsidised natural gas for power plants to resell electricity to France at higher prices.
Those suppliers are said to have taken advantage of the ‘Iberian Exemption’ where Spain and Portugal last year got ‘capped’ electricity prices produced by gas-fired processes.
A CNMC spokesperson said their probe deals with ‘a minor technical issue related to the electricity market and does not have to do with the gas cap directly’.
The investigation started on March 16 and has up to 18 months to run before a decision is made over any illegality.
‘The Iberian Exemption’ has been granted until the end of the year and there is a fear that future initiatives could be blocked from happening by the EU if any excess profiteering is discovered in relation to third parties like France.
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