The Eastern High Court has confirmed that it was illegal when HMN Naturgas together with two competitors and an industry association coordinated prices for service of natural gas boilers in the Greater Copenhagen area and Central and North Jutland.
The Competition Council made a decision in the case in 2016.
Deputy Director of the Danish Competition and Consumer Authority, Bitten Thorgaard Sørensen, says: "The Eastern High Court now also finds that HMN Naturgas violated the competition law when the company coordinated subscription prices for service of natural gas boilers with two competitors and with an industry association. It may have damaged households with natural gas boilers in large parts of Denmark.
"The illegal agreement entailed, among other things, that HMN Naturgas set its own subscription prices in a way so that the competitors in the service segment could raise their subscription prices. As a result, competition between natural gas service providers was limited."
In its judgment, the Eastern High Court writes, among other things: “The High Court finds the Competition Council's assessments well substantiated and can accept these in its entirety.
"The High Court hereby finds that the principle agreement pkt. 6 according to its content, purpose and the context in which the provision was included, as adopted by the Competition Council, must be regarded as a horizontal agreement on the coordination of end-user prices of a kind which, according to experience and established competition law practice, must be considered restrictive of competition."
HMN Naturgas and two competitors, who were also subcontractors to HMN Naturgas, have, together with their industry association, coordinated subscription prices for the service of natural gas boilers. In 2016, the Competition Council ruled that it was in breach of the Competition Act's prohibition against restrictive agreements.
The Council's decision was initially upheld by the Competition Appeals Board. HMN Naturgas then appealed the case to the Maritime and Commercial Court, which also confirmed that the price coordination was illegal. The verdict was appealed to the Eastern High Court, which has now also upheld it.
HMN Naturgas and the subcontractors Gastech and Kiertner agreed in 2014 together with the trade association DEBRA that HMN Naturgas' end-user prices for service of natural gas boilers should increase, so that Gastech, Kiertner and a number of other service partners had the opportunity to raise their subscription prices.
Gastech has not appealed the Competition Council's decision, and both the trade association DEBRA and Kiertner have been dissolved.
The Competition Council has notified the case to the Public Prosecutor for Special Economic and International Crime with a view to a criminal prosecution. ■