2024-07-25 11:17:06
As announced, 86.5 thousand was allocated to the company. EUR fine.
The investigation was started in response to the information that appeared in the public space that “Enefit” in 2023 September 18 carried out a concentration for which the Competition Council had to obtain permission.
As announced, the income of each of the companies participating in the concentration in Lithuania in 2022 exceeded 2 million euros, and the income was more than 20 million. euros, thus exceeding the limits of gross income of the transaction participants provided for in the Law on Competition.
“During the investigation, it was established that the companies were required to notify the planned transaction and obtain permission from the Competition Council or apply to the authority for separate concentration actions before a final decision is made,” the council says.
Taking into account the fact that Enefit recognized the violation of the law, the council reduced the financial sanction calculated for the company by 15%. and allocated 86.5 thousand euro fine.
The Chairperson of the Competition Council, Jolanta Ivanauskienė, noted that the preliminary concentration control mechanism enshrined in the law is intended to ensure that the merger of companies does not have a negative impact on competition and the market structure, and does not harm consumers.
Therefore, the implementation of the transaction without notifying the authority and obtaining its permission is considered a dangerous violation.
“Companies planning transactions always have the opportunity to apply to the Competition Council, explain the situation and request permission to carry out separate concentration actions, which was not done in the case of the aforementioned concentration,” says J. Ivanauskienė.
The decision can be appealed to the Administrative Court of Regions within one month from the date of its delivery or publication on the website of the Competition Council.
Enefit board member: we will not appeal the competition council’s decision, we will pay the fine
After the Competition Council recognized that the independent electricity supplier “Enefit” violated the competition law by not informing about the transaction, Žana Klusovskienė, a member of the company’s board, claims that the requirements of the law were not fulfilled, therefore there is no intention to appeal the decision to the court, and it is planned to pay the appointed 86.5 thousand. euro fine.
As decided by the Competition Council, Enefit violated the law by not informing the institution about the transaction with the small supplier “EGTO energija”, which has withdrawn from the market. As announced, Enefit took over the retail electricity supply contracts concluded by the latter company without the council’s permission.
As the member of the management of “Enefit” Žana Klusovskienė emphasizes, the deal was concluded in order to ensure uninterrupted electricity supply to the residents under the conditions offered by “EGTO energija”.
“We not only kept our commitment, but even improved it – for the customers of the company EGTO energija, from the first day, Enefit ensures both the same pricing and no longer brown, but 100%. supply of green electricity without any additional fees”, says Ž. in a comment to Eltai. Klusovskiene.
“Despite this, it must be admitted that, in our haste to take care of the client, we did not fulfill the requirements of the Competition Law, therefore we are ready to pay the fine and we do not intend to appeal the decision,” admits the member of the Enefit board.
According to Enefit, EGTO energija’s private and business customers accounted for 0.3 percent at the time of the takeover. all markets.
As announced, the Competition Council started the investigation in response to the information that appeared in the public space that “Enefit” in 2023 September 18 carried out a concentration for which the Competition Council had to obtain permission.
The income of each of the companies that participated in the concentration in Lithuania in 2022 exceeded 2 million euros, and the income was more than 20 million. euros, thus exceeding the limits of gross income of the transaction participants provided for in the Law on Competition.
Taking into account the fact that Enefit recognized the violation of the law, the council reduced the financial sanction calculated for the company by 15%.
2024-07-25 11:17:06