FAS Russia: the Federal Arbitration Court drew a line in the case against “Marienergosbyt”

Февраля 07, 2012

The Federal Arbitration Court of the Moscow District upheld a decision and determination issued by the Federal Antimonopoly Service regarding “Marienergosbyt” OJSC and reversed the rulings of Moscow Arbitration Court and the 9th Arbitration Appeal Court that the decision of the Antimonopoly Service were unlawful.

On 8th December 2010, the FAS Commission found that “Marienergosbyt” OJSC violated Part 1 Article 10 of the Federal Law “On Protection of Competition”. The company abused market dominance by breaching pricing procedures established by normative legal acts and manipulating prices on retail market of electric power (calculating maximum levels of free (non-regulated) prices for electric power (capacity) for settlement with consumers in 2010).

The unlawful actions of the company resulted in excessive prices for electric power for end-consumers.

FAS Russia issued determinations to “Marienergosbyt” OJSC to stop violating the antimonopoly law.

For violating pricing procedures and price manipulating in retail market if electric power industry, FAS imposed a “turnover” fine in the size of 13 million Rubles upon “Marienergosbyt” OJSC under Article 14.31 of the Code on Antimonopoly Violations.

“Within the last two years FAS has established practice of suppressing such new violations of the antimonopoly law as price manipulations on the market of electric power by various participants of this market. The Court ruling is important because it confirmed validity and reasonableness of the FAS decision for suppressing price manipulation by sales companies on retail level”, pointed out Deputy Head of FAS Russia, Anatoly Golomolzin. “As a result of price manipulation, the energy-selling company gained the income many times exceeding income by way of energy-supply mark-up”.