Israel: Electric company execs facing fines

On Monday the Antitrust Commission ruled that the Israel Electric Corporation exploited its monopoly status to curb competition from the country’s smaller private electricity suppliers. Unusually of the $3.5 million in fines that the commission imposed, the commission included individual fines against three senior IEC executives, which they will have to pay out of their own pockets.

Former Israel Electric deputy CEO Yaakov Hain is being fined $44,000 while current deputy CEO Itzhak Balmas is being required to pay out $55,000.

The former CEO of the state-owned electric utility, Eli Glickman, was sent a letter informing him that he will have to pay an even higher fine, subject to a hearing in which he can challenge the penalty.

In its ruling, the Antitrust Commission issued a finding that the IEC had exploited its monopoly to the detriment of the service provided to major business customers who had opted to purchase power from smaller private electricity providers instead.

Even after switching to other providers, the companies were still dependent on the IEC for the transmission and distribution infrastructure that it maintains and which it is obligated to provide to all customers.

The IEC issued a statement calling the Antitrust Commission’s decision “mistaken” and adding that the utility would appeal it to the courts, where it would “present the range of the facts that run counter the position of the Antitrust Commission.”

Full Content: Haaretz

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