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EU opens antitrust probe into Czech electricity incumbent CEZ
Jul 15, 2011, 11:10 GMT
Brussels - The European Union executive announced Friday it had opened an antitrust investigation into CEZ, the former monopoly supplier of electricity in the Czech Republic, over suspicions that it had blocked market access to competitors.
'The (European) Commission has concerns that CEZ's behaviour, in particular the hoarding of capacity in the transmission network, may have resulted in preventing the entry of competitors in the Czech wholesale electricity market,' it said in a statement.
Preventing competitors from entering a market is in breach of the EU's strict competition laws. Companies found guilty of such actions can be liable for hefty fines.
Friday's decision follows inspections on CEZ's premises carried out by EU antitrust investigators in November 2009.
The commission said 'there is no legal deadline' for it to complete its investigation of CEZ.
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