Portugal retail and telecommunications firm Sonae has rejected what it describes as an 'incomprehensible, surprising, wholly erroneous and legally nonconforming' decision by the Portuguese Competition Authority, over a scheme that enabled shoppers at its Continente stores to save money on energy bills.
The Authority announced a fine of €9.6 million for Sonae, for its Plano EDP Continente initiative, a programme conducted in conjunction with electricity firm EDP Comercial, which took place in 2012 and enabled consumers to 'obtain a discount corresponding to 10% of their electric consumption and contracted supply', Sonae said.
Landmark
'The "Plano EDP Continente” proved to be a landmark in the liberalisation process of the energy market in Portugal, providing consumers with savings in electricity costs, for the first time,' the company added. 'The plan reached 146 thousand consumers, to whom over a million discount coupons were distributed, in a total amount of 6.7 million euros.'
In response to the Authority's decision, the group said that far from breach competition guidelines, rather it 'gave significant impetus to competition within the electric sector while also adding value to consumers'.
Sonae said that it will take judicial action against the Authority's decision, and is confident that 'the courts will find in their favour and absolve them of any illegalities'.
© 2017 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Stephen Wynne-Jones. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine
