Abuse proceedings initiated against electricity
 network operator Bewag

The Bundeskartellamt has initiated a formal investigation against Bewag AG, Berlin (Bewag), belonging to the Swedish Vattenfall group, on suspicion of the company abusing its dominant position as an electricity network operator. Bewag is suspected of unfairly hindering electricity providers by charging abusively excessive fees for using its networks.

The Bundeskartellamt has initiated a formal investigation against Bewag AG, Berlin (Bewag), belonging to the Swedish Vattenfall group, on suspicion of the company abusing its dominant position as an electricity network operator. Bewag is suspected of unfairly hindering electricity providers by charging abusively excessive fees for using its networks.

The President of the Bundeskartellamt, Dr Böge, stated: “The institution of proceedings is a clear signal to the electricity sector that the Bundeskartellamt will continue to take action against abusively excessive fees charged by network operators despite the fact that the Associations’ Agreement has to some extent been juridified. The benefits of liberalisation should reach all consumers.”

The amendment of the Energy Act brought underway in late May acknowledges the assumption of “good professional practice” of the Associations’ Agreement.  Competition law was only to be applicable “additionally”. According to Böge, this regulation renders the Bundeskartellamt’s work in enforcing the principle of competition in the network-based energy sector more difficult. Nevertheless the authority will make every effort to stop abusive conduct in the area of network access and network use. The proceedings instituted relate to the network monopolies of Bewag in Berlin and Brandenburg in supplying household and commercial customers (low-voltage level) as well as industrial customers (medium-voltage level). According to initial investigations, Bewag’s fees at the medium-voltage level, for example, are more than 25 per cent higher than those charged by operators of comparable networks. The Bundeskartellamt used the networks of RWE AG and Energie Baden-Württemberg AG (EnBW) for comparison. The President of the Bundeskartellamt, Dr Böge, stated: “The institution of proceedings is a clear signal to the electricity sector that the Bundeskartellamt will continue to take action against abusively excessive fees charged by network operators despite the fact that the Associations’ Agreement has to some extent been juridified. The benefits of liberalisation should reach all consumers.”

The amendment of the Energy Act brought underway in late May acknowledges the assumption of “good professional practice” of the Associations’ Agreement.  Competition law was only to be applicable “additionally”. According to Böge, this regulation renders the Bundeskartellamt’s work in enforcing the principle of competition in the network-based energy sector more difficult. Nevertheless the authority will make every effort to stop abusive conduct in the area of network access and network use.

The proceedings instituted relate to the network monopolies of Bewag in Berlin and Brandenburg in supplying household and commercial customers (low-voltage level) as well as industrial customers (medium-voltage level). According to initial investigations, Bewag’s fees at the medium-voltage level, for example, are more than 25 per cent higher than those charged by operators of comparable networks. The Bundeskartellamt used the networks of RWE AG and Energie Baden-Württemberg AG (EnBW) for comparison.