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Spanish Gov Calls For A Probe Into Price Manipulation By Electricity Firms

By  |  June 8, 2021

The Spanish government has asked the nation’s competition authority to investigate possible irregular activity between utilities companies that may be affecting electricity prices, according to a source from within the government.

The Ministry of Ecological Transition made the request to the authority, the CNMC, in a letter sent Monday, June 7, the source told The Wall Street Journal. In the letter, the ministry asked the CNMC “to analyse any possible irregular behavior or bad market practice on the part of operators, relating to the coming into force of the new tariff structure.”

A spokesman for the CNMC confirmed it had received the letter and said the regulator continually reviewed the gas and electric market, as set out by law.

A new structure of electricity tariffs came into force on June 1 in Spain. The government has since intervened in an attempt to bring down climbing electricity bills, last week approving a draft bill aiming to minimize extra costs charged by providers relating to carbon emissions.

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