MADRID (Reuters) – Spanish anti-trust watchdog said on Wednesday it has opened an investigation into various energy utilities over possible anti-competitive practices.
The watchdog said its officials raided the headquarters of the utilities between Nov. 28 and Dec. 2, though it did not identify the companies under investigation.
Energy prices soared in Spain, as elsewhere in Europe, following the war in Ukraine, boosting utilities’ revenues and profits, which in turn pushed authorities to intervene in the market with subsidies, price caps and new taxes and raised concerns about price transparency.
Anti-competitive practices can lead to fines of up to 10% of the volume of total business of the infringing companies in the year immediately prior, the watchdog said in its statement.
(Reporting by Matteo Allievi, Editing by Inti Landauro and Louise Heavens)
