The European Commission has made unannounced inspections at power exchanges in several countries. The Commission said it was concerned that the exchanges may have violated anti-trust rules and the inspections were a preliminary step in investigations. It did not mean the companies were guilty of anti-competitive behaviour.
Law firm SJ Berwin said Europe’s two largest exchanges, Nord Pool and Epex Spot, had confirmed that they were under investigation. SJ Berwin said the two companies, which operate in different geographical areas, had announced plans for a joint venture exchange in London. It said the Commission’s concerns may be regarding information exchanged as part of that project that could limit future competition.
l The investigation comes as the European Commission published new rules on openness for commodities trades that would include the energy sector.
The rules are one of a series of measures that would extend oversight of financial trades to the energy sector (see articles on pages 18 and 20). These include regulation on energy market integrity and transparency (Remit), financial instruments (Mifid and Mifir), European markets infrastructure (Emir) and the Capital Requirements Directive (CRD).
This article first appeared in Utility Week’s print edition of 17 February 2012.
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