Antimonopoly Committee opens case against Naftogaz

The Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine (AMCU) has opened a case against Naftogaz of Ukraine over abuse of monopoly position in natural gas markets, the committee's press service has said.

"The Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine has started the consideration of the case on grounds of National Joint-Stock Company Naftogaz of Ukraine violating the law of Ukraine 'On the Protection of Economic Competition' in the form of abuse of monopoly position on the market by setting from November 1, 2018 the prices for natural gas at a level that could not have been established amid significant competition," the statement reads.

Therefore, according to information available to the AMCU, Naftogaz set for industrial consumers the prices that are higher than those in the competitive environment, in particular, following electronic stock exchange trading at the Ukrainian Energy Exchange and at European hubs under the conditions of gas delivery to the border of Ukraine.

This shows that as of November 1, 2018, Naftogaz set natural gas prices for the population at a level that would not be possible to set amid significant competition in the natural gas markets, the committee said.

According to the Cabinet of Ministers regulation on the assignment of special duties, it is Naftogaz that sells natural gas to suppliers for the needs of the population. At the same time, the company sets prices in this segment of the market based on the price for the industry offered by the same company.

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