The Supreme Court ruled this Thursday on the factual appeal filed by Hidromaule and Eléctrica Puntilla, within the framework of the case against the National Energy Commission (CNE), for violating free competition after issuing the technical standard that contains liquefied natural gas (LNG) inflexible.
In this way, the highest court, ex officio and in a unanimous decision, ruled that, according to what it has reflected on in the case, the Court for the Defense of Free Competition (TDLC) incurred an anomaly, which sought to put an end to the process. , noting that it must be corrected in order to continue with the trial.
“The attack on free competition that is attributed to the CNE consists in the fact that the NT grants LNG-based generators, three of which were part of the lawsuit (Colbún, Enel and Generadora Metropolitana), the possibility of preferentially inject and force the entry of its fossil energy to the detriment of renewable energies”, indicated the lawyer representing the litigants, mario bravo.
“Beyond constituting a contradiction against decarbonization, it implies an attack on free competition, which must be sanctioned in accordance with the regulations for the defense of free competition,” he added.
For Jose Manuel Contardofrom Hidromaule, “what was resolved by the Supreme Court is a good sign that this type of forced shipments, such as this case of Inflexible LNG that we have denounced since 2020 as attacks on free competition, contribute to putting at risk the renewable generators, such as the recently known cases of María Elena and Cabo Leones”.
It should be noted that, as stipulated in DL 211, the CNE is exposed to the maximum fine of US$45 million for violating free competition.
