Ofgem has imposed fines totalling £870,000 on the three companies

Ofgem has imposed fines totalling £870,000 on the three companies

Ofgem has found that energy suppliers Economy Energy and E (Gas and Electricity) Limited (EGEL), and Dyball Associates, an energy software and consultancy firm, entered into market sharing agreements in breach of the Chapter I prohibition.

UK sector regulators including Ofgem have concurrent powers alongside the Competition and Markets Authority to apply competition law in their respective sectors.  This is the first time that Ofgem has issued an infringement decision in a cartel-type case.

The agreements concerned the supply of gas and electricity to domestic customers in Great Britain between January and September 2016.

Ofgem also found that Economy Energy, EGEL and Dyball Associates shared commercially sensitive information about customer meters.

EGEL was fined £650,000.  The fine imposed on Economy Energy of £200,000 reflects the fact that it is now in administration. Dyball Associates was fined £20,000 for acting as a facilitator showing that third parties can be liable for facilitating competition law infringements, here through the use of algorithms.

Ofgem press release, 30 May 2019