Fines canceled by the Lazio Regional Administrative Court a Enel, Eni Plenitude and Acea, fines established for unilateral increases deemed illegitimate by the Antitrust.
In November 2023, in fact, the Authority accused gas and electricity companies of aggressive commercial practices and of having thus influenced consumers to accept increases in electricity and gas prices, in contrast with the protection provided for by the Decree Aid again.
In a context characterized by serious critical issues in the energy sector with significant increases in costs for end consumers, this rule prohibited unilateral price increases for the supply of electricity and gas from 10 August 2022 to 30 June 2023 – the AGCM wrote at the time . Instead, Enel Energia, Eni Plenitude, Acea Energia, Iberdrola Clienti Italia, Dolomiti Energia and Edison Energia sent users letters instructing them to accept price changes in the aforementioned period, resulting in significant increases in bills for their customers.
Therefore, according to the Authority, Enel and Eni – sanctioned with 10 million and 5 million respectively – had modified unilaterally the supply prices to over 4 million consumers on the basis of the contractual clauses which would have allowed them to decide at their discretion whether and when to change the tariffs once the prices of the economic offer chosen had expired. Acea, which was fined 560 thousand euros, would instead have increased prices before the correct deadline and also with unilateral changes in violation of the law.
What did the Lazio Regional Administrative Court decide?
the latter case develops without changing the general conditions of the contract; expired conditions must also be understood as those for which the initial period of validity has already expired, since the automatic extension of the same cannot be interpreted as an indefinite transformation of an offer which, by contractual agreement, is blocked only for a period of time determined, and therefore remaining, for the phase following the initially identified deadline, the possibility of modifications, obviously within the established terms (i.e. with notice and without prejudice to the user’s right of withdrawal).
