The European Union is understood to be poised to enforce anti-trust legislation against Europe’s largest gas supplier on the grounds that it may have overcharged its Eastern European customers.
UK gas market traders told Utility Week that there has so far been no price reaction to the news, but reports suggest the legal action may inflame tensions between the EU and Russian leader Vladimir Putin who in the past has threatened gas cuts through key gas transit state Ukraine.
Most recently Russia cut gas supplies to Ukraine in June last year due to a price dispute, causing a ripple effect of rising gas prices across markets in Europe and the UK.
According to a Reuters report the company could receive a formal complaint from the European competition commissioner Margrethe Vestager on Wednesday.