Cable supplier Nexans must pay damages to the companies owning the London Array offshore wind farm, the Competition Appeal Tribunal has ruled, in a decision that followed a earlier ruling that Nexans was part of a cartel.
On 2 April 2014 the Commission found that Nexans others participated in a cartel concerning high-voltage power cables. The owners of the London Array sought damages on the basis of an alleged overcharge for cables supplied by Nexans Norway, both the export cables connecting the wind farm to the onshore network and inter-array cables.
The CAT concluded there had been overcharge for the export cables, saying the auction process for the supply of export cables for the windfarm had been affected by cartel behaviour, the difference in margin between “during cartel” and “after cartel” projects produced statistically significant, or close to statistically significant, results; and absent the cartel there would have been more bidders to supply the cable.
The Tribunal concluded the applicable overcharge in respect of export cables was 5%.
The Tribunal found no overcharge in respect of inter-array cables, concluding that London Array had not shown, on a balance of probabilities, that there as any such overcharge.
Finally, the Tribunal concluded that the applicable interest rate was the Bank of England base rate plus 2%.