German cartel office probes energy suppliers over possible subsidies abuse

Germany's antitrust regulator on Monday said it was investigating a double-digit number of energy suppliers for possible abuse of an energy price cap introduced by the government to shield citizens and companies from soaring prices. ($1 = 0.9084 euros)

Germany's antitrust regulator on Monday said it was investigating a double-digit number of energy suppliers for possible abuse of an energy price cap introduced by the government to shield citizens and companies from soaring prices. Berlin last year introduced a 200-billion-euro ($220.16 billion) relief package to help companies and households shoulder soaring electricity and gas bills following Russia's invasion of Ukraine and a drop in Russian gas exports.

According to consumer portals, electricity and gas tariffs of some German suppliers are above the government caps despite falling global gas prices compared to last summer, leading to concerns that some suppliers are increasing prices to benefit from the subsidies. "Our task here is to protect the state from exploitation," said Andreas Mundt, the head of the cartel office.

The regulator had indications that the underlying prices could not be objectively justified to end customers and had started a new department to check such violations, Mundt added. ($1 = 0.9084 euros)