SOFIA (Bulgaria), December 21 (SeeNews) – Bulgaria’s competition regulator said on Thursday it fined the local power supply and distribution units of Austrian energy group EVN and Czech group CEZ for abuse of their dominant position on the market.
EVN’s Bulgarian units Power Distribution South and EVN Bulgaria Elektrosnabdyavane were fined 1.9 million levs ($1.1 million/1.0 million euro) each, the Commission for Protection of Competition said in a statement.
The CEZ Group local units - CEZ Electro Bulgaria [BUL:1CZ] and CEZ Distribution Bulgaria [BUL:3CZ], were fined 1.1 million levs each, the regulator said in a separate statement.
The fines were imposed because the companies of each of the groups were implementing common strategies and practices discriminating against independent traders outside the respective groups and restricting trade in electricity at freely negotiated prices.
The regulator’s decision can be challenged before the Supreme Administrative Court within 14 days of its publication.
(1 euro=1.95583 levs)