EC fines OPCOM and Transelectrica by EUR 1 million

The European Commission (EC) fined the energy exchange OPCOM and Transelectrica (TEL) by EUR 1 million for having abused its dominant position on the Romanian spot energy transactions market, breaching the European regulations in terms of competition, reports a press release of the EC made public on Wednesday in Brussels.

The EC found that, OPCOM has been discriminating for five years the electrical energy traders outside Romania with headquarters in EU.

"The energy exchanges are indispensable for the effective functioning of the electricity markets in the consumers' interest. The abusive behaviour of OPCOM hampered the traders in the EU to participate in the spot markets within the energy exchange in Romania, creating an artificial barrier at the entrance that accounts for a breach of the EU regulations in terms of competition. The national barriers of this type not only hamper the completion of a unique energy market, but also hamper the development of effective, liquid markets", stated the European commissioner for competition, Joaquín Almunia.

Pursuant to OPCOM demand, the energy traders in EU could not enter the wholesale electrical energy market in Romania only by means of setting up of a permanent head office in Romania, which involves additional costs and organizational disadvantages for the traders in EU compared to those in Romania.

Beside OPCOM, the EC shows that Transelectrica is also responsible for this situation, the owner of the energy exchange.

 "The Commission holds responsible for this breach also the OPCOM parent company, namely Transelectrica. (...) Upon the settlement of the level of the fines, the Commission took into account the relevant sales recorded by the company in question in Romania, the gravity of the breach and its term", it is being shown in the press release.