$992 mln UK lawsuit against European power cable groups gets go-ahead
03/05/2024 14:39
LONDON, May 3 (Reuters) - A 790 million-pound ($992
million) mass lawsuit against major European power cable
suppliers over claims a cartel led to inflated electricity
charges for British consumers can proceed to trial, a London
tribunal has ruled.
The case seeking damages from Italy's Prysmian, France's
Nexans and Denmark's NKT for around 30 million consumers in
Britain was certified by the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT)
last month, according to a ruling published on Friday.
Clare Spottiswoode, the former head of Britain's gas
regulator, is spearheading the lawsuit, which follows on from
the European Commission's 2014 finding that Prysmian, Nexans,
NKT and others had operated a 10-year power cable cartel.
Her lawyers argue that the companies overcharged network
operators for cables and that those costs were passed on to
consumers, which the defendants deny.
Prysmian, Nexans and NKT's lawyers did not oppose
Spottiswoode's case being certified at a hearing last month, but
they raised concerns over how any damages might be distributed.
The CAT said the case should be certified subject to
Spottiswoode's lawyers providing further proposals on how any
damages awarded would be given to the claimant class.
The lawsuit, worth up to 790 million pounds including
interest, will now proceed towards a full hearing, though that
is unlikely to happen before the end of 2025 at the earliest.
Spottiswoode said in a statement that she was pleased with
the CAT's decision, adding: "This is an important legal
milestone toward the claim's goal of achieving justice for the
millions of UK electricity customers who suffered from the
damaging anticompetitive behaviour of corporates at the top of
the supply chain."
Nexans and NKT did not immediately comment. Prysmian did not
immediately respond to a request for comment.
(Reporting by Sam Tobin; editing by Sarah Young)
((Sam.Tobin@thomsonreuters.com;))