AGCM

PRESS RELEASE

Electricity market: Repower Italia, EGL Italia and Tirreno Power penalised for agreement restricting competition

The agreement, built on the ancillary services in Campania, caused a major increase in costs incurred by Terna during the reference period for EUR 900,000. Fines for over EUR 300,000 in total, commensurate with the brief duration of the agreement and the various behaviour of the companies

The Autorità Garante della Concorrenza e del Mercato, at its meeting of 30 May 2012, resolved that the companies Repower Italia, EGL Italia and Tirreno Power had put in place an anti-competition agreement in the relevant market consisting of the minimum technical power service required by Terna on holidays with the plants that “serve” the Campania region. Fines equalled EUR 106,156 for Repower EUR 116,097 for Tirreno Power, and EUR 80,389 for EGL Italy.

According to the Antitrust Authority the three companies, representing 100% of the reference market, allocated the start of the program on the market of ancillary services on holidays ex-ante, through adherence to a set of rules for the formulation of bids: in particular, the companies behaved in such a way as to ensure that the shifts for starting their plants were based on three-day holiday cycles. The agreement was made to address Terna’s need to have a unit of the group of Campania plants in service to resolve the voltage problems that affect the area on holidays: a requirement that rendered the demand for minimum technical power services stable.

The agreement, which lasted from the first half of April to the beginning of August 2010, produced an effect on the expenses incurred for the purchase of ancillary services estimated at a major increase of more than EUR 900,000, i.e., 5% of the expense incurred by Terna in the period concerned in the relevant market and, therefore, the price paid by all national energy consumers.

During the investigation the Antitrust offices found proof of direct contact between two of the parties to the proceedings, EGL and Repower, in a period immediately prior to initiating the parallel conduct. Tirreno Power instead became involved in the agreement only later: for this reason the company benefited from a of 15% reduction in the penalty.

Rome, 14 June 2012