Engie To Pay €100mn French Fine

French gas supply giant Engie is to pay €100mn ($108mn) to settle an anti-trust case with France's national competition authority, the latter said March 22. It is also to provide all its competitors with immediate access to the part of its customer database relating to sales under regulated tariffs, and to verify the price calculations for market based tariffs, to ensure they fully reflect its costs and are not predatory.

The authority said that the fine followed a complaint by smaller rival Direct Energie and the consumer association UFC-Que choisir. The competition authority said that Engie "abused its dominant position in the gas markets in order to induce its customers to switch to its market-based gas and electricity contracts." Engie did not admit any guilt in the case.

The authority said Engie used its file of customers eligible for regulated tariffs on gas, which it holds in its capacity as the incumbent operator, as well as its dedicated business infrastructure, to sell its market-price gas and electricity supply contracts to private individuals and small business customers. Engie also used a misleading selling point to consumers, according to which it guaranteed a better security of gas supply than its competitors in order to incite customers to choose its contracts.

It said Engie did not contest the facts, but wished to make a deal with the agency. Engie said: "It should be stressed that the authority has acknowledged mitigating circumstances in the case, due to the fact that Engie'’s legal obligations as historical incumbent were very unclear."

Engie is also, as a market test that is open for consultation, to post different tariffs for its market based contracts, to allay concerns that its present tariffs do not reflect accurately its costs. At the end of the market test, the authority will examine comments made by third parties. Where applicable, it will be able to ask for changes or additions to be made to the commitments. After having made them mandatory, it will be able to close the proceedings.

Engie still faces a probe over its Luxembourg tax arrangements, this time led by the European Commission's competition directorate.

William Powell