EDF has just been sanctioned by the Competition Authority with a heavy fine of 300 million euros for abuse of a dominant position.
Following a complaint from Engie, EDF was accused of having exploited certain resources from 2004 to 2021, such as customer files, which the group had as part of its public electricity service mission, to provide consumers with gas and electricity market offers and other energy services.
According to the Autorité de la concurrence, the objective pursued by EDF was to maintain “its market share in the electricity supply sector and to strengthen its position on the ancillary markets for the supply of gas and energy services”. .
According to the authority, the practices put in place by EDF took place during the period when the sector was opened up to competition. This process began with Directive 96/92/EC and continued gradually, first for large companies and then for all consumers, professionals and individuals alike.
Several commitments
In this context, EDF used human and technical resources that its competitors did not have. “The practices thus contributed to strengthening EDF’s position in the energy sector as a whole and to delaying the development of alternative suppliers,” specifies the Authority.
In this case, EDF requested the benefit of the settlement procedure. This procedure allows a company that does not contest the facts with which it is charged to obtain the pronouncement of a pecuniary penalty within a range negotiated with the general rapporteur, setting a maximum and minimum amount.
EDF has also offered several commitments: on the one hand, to provide alternative electricity suppliers who request several files.
