The Competition Tribunal ruled in favor of the National Economic Prosecutor’s Office, against Empresa Eléctrica de Magallanes (EDELMAG), for abuse of a monopoly position in provision of electricity to final consumers in the city of Puerto Williams, XIIth Region, when it raised prices without justification.
The ruling states that EDELMAG raised its prices above what it should have, according to the indexation formulas specified in its concession contract. There was no change in the judiciary-tax circumstances, especially regarding the diesel specific tax recovery regime, that justified the change in prices.
The company had to pay a fine of 400 Annual Tributary Units (around US$ 370,000), for raising prices from November 2005 onwards, and it was ordered to cease the conduct immediately. The lawsuit exceeded the statute of limitations for actions in the period between January and November 2005.