Brussels, 23/05/2016 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission has concluded that a contract signed between the Danish transport network manager Energinet.dk and DONG Energy, a Danish energy supplier, for the supply of electricity at short notice did not contain a state aid element and conferred no selective advantage upon DONG Energy.
This contract, which was signed in December 2010 and applied between January 2011 and the end of 2015, provided for DONG Energy to supply electricity into the system at short notice in order to guarantee the balance and technical stability of the Danish electricity network. Following complaints from competitors, the Commission opened an in-depth investigation to determine, amongst other things, whether the measure was based on market conditions. If this had not been the case, it would have comprised state aid within the meaning of the EU rules. The Commission looked at the price paid to DONG Energy and compared this to the price of other potential sources. It reached the conclusion that Energinet.dk had obtained a competitive price for the supply of the auxiliary services in question (in eastern Denmark). (Original version in French by Élodie Lamer)