GDF Suez Loses Appeal on Database Access

A Paris court rejected an appeal by gas and power group GDF Suez against the French competition authority's order forcing it to give competitors access to its client databases.

Following a complaint by energy vendor Direct Energie, who says GDF Suez uses it database of clients on regulated tariffs to market its non-regulated gas contracts, the authority ordered GDF Suez in September to provide access to its corporate client database by Nov. 3 and to its household database by Dec. 15.

The Paris court of appeal confirmed that ruling, but gave GDF Suez a few more weeks to comply, moving back the deadlines to provide access to Nov. 13 for corporates and Jan. 15, 2015 for households.

GDF Suez declined to comment.

France's energy market was liberalised in 2007, giving consumers the option of switching from the former monopoly operator GDF Suez to alternative suppliers.

But by the end of 2013, alternative gas suppliers - not including EDF, which also sells gas - had only won 5 percent of the household market and 13 percent of the industrial market, despite offering market prices that are up to 15 percent below GDF Suez's regulated tariffs, the competition authority said.

The watchdog said in September it had begun an investigation into GDF Suez's market practices that will run until late 2015 or early 2016.

If this finds that GDF Suez abused its dominant position, the watchdog could fine the company as much as 10 percent of its worldwide sales. GDF Suez's 2013 sales were 81.3 billion euros ($102 billion).

GDF Suez has denied having made any use of a dominant position.
 

Reporting by Geert De Clercq and Benjamin Mallet