Electrical company Electro Dunas is sanctioned for abuse of dominant position

The electricity distribution company in southern Peru, mainly in the department of Ica., Electro Dunas SAA, has been fined for 200.89 UIT, equivalent to more than S/994,000 by Commission for the Defense of Free Competition (CLC) of the Indecopi. This after being accused of abuse of a dominant position.

According to the CLC, the distribution company applied unequal conditions for regulated users who chose to change their status to free users. Thus, those who agreed to keep it as a supplier in the market were exempted from the one-year notice period, but compliance was required of those people who moved to the free user segment and decided to contract with other competitors such as Atria Energía, a company that filed the complaint.

It should be noted that regulated customers are mainly households that consume electricity with an annual power demand of no more than 200 kW and companies located near their area, while free customers consume electricity with an annual power demand of more than 2,500 kW. and they can contract the supply with any generator or distributor.

ANDl Indecopi It also reported that, during the investigated period (2017 – 2020), due to this action, Electro Dunas was able to increase its share in the affected market, both in terms of the percentage of new customers and the total contracted power. Along these lines, it was concluded that the sanctioned company could not demonstrate that the adopted policy introduced efficiencies to the market for the benefit of consumers.

It is important to mention that three types of electricity users participate in the investigated market: regulated users; free users; and users who have a power demand between 200 kW and 2,500 kW, who can decide to remain as regulated users or migrate to free status. In this regard, current legislation establishes that regulated users who want to change their condition to free must notify their current supply company one year in advance.

The penalized conduct violated subparagraphs b) and h) of article 10.2 of the Free Competition Law, since it implied the unjustified application of unequal conditions for equivalent benefits in the electricity supply market, unduly restricting competition. Electro Dunas is still within the legal term to appeal this decision before the Specialized Chamber for the Defense of Competition, second and last instance of Indecopi.