EU announces antitrust swoop on electricity trading companies

Feb 7, 2012, 16:01 GMT

Brussels - European Union antitrust investigators carried out raids on an unnamed group of companies that provide a market for wholesale buying and selling of electricity power, the bloc's executive said Tuesday.

So-called power exchange companies are suspected of having 'violated European antitrust rules that prohibit cartels and restrictive business practices,' the European Commission said in a statement.

It clarified that the unannounced inspections were a 'preliminary step' before the opening of a full-blown antitrust probe, which may eventually lead to hefty fines being imposed on the companies.

The commission said that authorities from the European Free Trade Association also took part in the swoops - indicating that companies in either Iceland, Liechtenstein or Norway were also searched.