Antitrust investigation into the Post Office for the sale of Energy offers

Antitrust investigation into the Post Office for the sale of Energy offers

The Competition and Market Authority has announced that it has started an investigation against Poste Italiane to ascertain the existence of violations of the art. 8, paragraph 2-quater of law no. 287/1990. According to the Authority, Poste Italiane would not have made the entire network and post offices accessible to companies directly competing with its subsidiary PostePay in the electricity and natural gas retail sales markets. Together with the investigation, a precautionary proceeding was also initiated by the Antitrust.

The Antitrust explains that based on art. 8, in fact, “Poste Italiane should make the offices and the postal network (of which it has exclusive availability as provider of the universal postal service) accessible to the competitors of its subsidiary PostePay, which uses them to market and promote Poste offers Energy in the electricity retail market”.

LThe Authority highlights that according to some reports, Poste Italiane has not made these goods or services accessible to some of PostePay's competitors who have recently requested them. In this way it attributed to its subsidiary a significant competitive advantage, capable of irreparably altering the competitive dynamics in a singular market context – characterized by the end of protected regimes in the supply of electricity and natural gas – in which active operators have strong incentives to attract customers from protected regimes.

At the same time as the investigation, the Authority also initiated proceedings to adopt any precautionary measures pursuant to art. 14-bis of law no. 287 of 1990, to restore that level playing field in the markets in question, which would have been distorted by the conduct under investigationAnd. Yesterday the Authority's officials, with the help of the Special Antitrust Unit of the Guardia di Finanza, carried out inspections at the offices of the companies involved, finally adds the Antitrust.