COMPETITION AND ANTITRUST ISSUES FOR THE GAS & UTILITIES SECTOR
R&C: What do you consider to be the main competition/antitrust developments currently impacting the gas & utilities sector? What key regulatory issues have these companies faced in recent years?
Bruneau: The European Commission (EC) has embarked on a shift toward climate neutrality with the adoption of the ‘European Green Deal’ in December 2019 in order to become a climate neutral continent by 2050. In this context, gas & utilities companies are dealing with regulatory challenges driven by decarbonisation, which has now taken the form of reaching an ultimate net-zero target. As the EC has adopted several packages of measures and progress reports around energy efficiency goals, emissions reduction through an increasing use of renewable resources and research and innovation in low-carbon technologies, competition law has started to adapt in order to facilitate the implementation of the European Green Deal’s climate change and sustainability objectives. Since 2000, gas & utilities companies have been an area of prime focus for the EC’s Directorate-General for Competition (DG COMP), with separate sector-specific inquiries covering the gas industry and the capacity mechanisms in electricity markets. Similarly, the DG COMP has significantly intensified its enforcement action to tackle potential anti-competitive behaviour in these markets while considering enabling collaboration between competitors to achieve sustainability and green goals.
Jan-Mar 2021 Issue
Gibson Dunn
Hogan Lovells International LLP
K&L Gates LLP