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CNC fines Iberdola 10.685 million euros for not obtaining consumer consent before changing electricity supplier

By  |  March 1, 2012

The CNC has fined Iberdola €10,685,000 for transferring customers from the distributor of last resort to the deregulated distributor without obtaining the consumer’s express consent. Such practices violate Additional Provision One of Order ITC/1659/2009, which requires a consumer’s express consent for a change in electricity supplier. Under the Spanish Unfair Competition Act 3/1991, a breach of rules intended to regulate competition is deemed an unfair act. Iberdrola is a leading Spanish utility company.

In reaching its decision, the CNC considered “the legal and economic context in which the conduct with which it was charged occurred (the deregulation of the retail market for the supply of electricity), the group at which it was directed (small and medium-size enterprises) and the service affected (a basic input for businesses and an essential service for domestic consumers).”

 

Source: Comision Nacional de la Competencia

 

Related content: The New Spanish Competition System (Carlos Pascual Pons, Spanish National Competition Commission)