Dear bills, Tar Lombardia suspending the July increases – BBC

the Tar Lombardy suspended as a precautionary measure to increases in electricity and gas bills triggered last July 1. The judges upheld the appeal of Codacons, presented as a result of the wholesalers speculation about dispatching market. The proceeding was postponed in relation to closed session scheduled for next September 15. “Thanks to the Codacons 30 million Italians will receive the next bill and the lowered gas and no increases – says the president of the consumer, Carlo Rienzi – was absurd fact rincarare rates for illicit effect on which now will have to rule the judiciary”. The Energy Authority had announced that from July 1, for the family-type (average electricity consumption of 2,700 kWh per year and an engaged power of 3 kW) the electricity bill would have increased by 4.3 %, while for the gas adjustment would have been 1.9%.

The class action

Codacons had launched a couple of weeks ago in Lombardy a mega class-action in favor of energy users residing in the region. The association had published on its website the form to join the class action and also made an appeal to the TAR of Lazio seeking to block the increases. The Energy Authority, in motivating fare increases, denounced speculation by wholesalers, talking about “unusual strategies adopted by various operators on the wholesale electricity market that led to a significant cost burden for the system and to an alteration of the normal price formation mechanism in the markets “- says the Codacons – the same Authority initiated proceedings to punish the conduct undertaken by electricity wholesalers and configurable as market abuse under Regulation (EU). This means that the rates on electricity and gas have increased as the result of a crime and illegal conduct and certainly not for the normal performance of the market, a fact prohibited in our country and which should have led the Energy Authority to suspend any increase for electricity and for gas. ”

The appeal granted

For the administrative judges, chaired by Mario Mosconi, rising prices, if they are illegal, constitute ‘an immanent serious and irreparable damage especially for the wide audience that makes up the individual end users (mostly families and users of non-productive activities managers, low incomes), “and if it is legitimate,” can easily be recovered as part of the additional billing systems through appropriate and equitable ways of drawdown. ” Why the Tar «welcomes» the association use the consumers, “suspending the effectiveness of the resolution” of the Authority on 28 June “and” sends the discussion in the collegiate of that request for an injunction to the chambers on September 15 2016 ».

July 20, 2016 | 11:58

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