Three European companies face fines for breaching Remit rules

Energi Danmark has been fined for market manipulation on the Nordic wholesale electricity market

The fine imposed on Energy Danmark is the result of an investigation started by the Danish Regulatory Authority for Energy and referred to the Danish State Prosecutor for Serious Economic and International Crime. They said Energi Danmark had hoarded capacity on electricity interconnectors by trading with itself in ten instances during 2015. This hampered competition and the trades could have caused misleading signals or artificial prices on the intraday wholesale electricity market, they said.

The Prosecutor fined Energi Danmark  750,000DKK (€100,000). Energi Danmark and confiscated the revenue obtained through the manipulative behaviour (354,000DKK / €47,000).

In November, the Spanish National Regulatory Authority for energy (CNMC) fined Multienergía Verde,  €120,000 and Galp Gas Natural, €80,000 for engaging in market manipulation in the natural gas market.

CNMC decided that from 15 to 20 January 2017, Multienergía Verde,secured, or attempted to secure, the price of several natural gas wholesale products for delivery in Spain, traded at the organised gas market, at an artificial level. And on 17 January 2017, Galp Gas Natural secured the prices of the natural gas day-ahead product for delivery in Spain at an artificial level.

CNMC said the these behaviours breached Remit regulations that prohibit market manipulation and attempted market manipulation in the wholesale energy markets. The decisions can be appealed.

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