We are proud to announce that our law firm has achieved a groundbreaking victory in the first case concerning imposition of sanctions under the EU Regulation on the Integrity and Transparency of the Wholesale Energy Market (Regulation No. 1227/2011 - REMIT).

In November 2022, the Commission for Energy and Water Regulation (EWRC) raised allegations that six market participants, including our client Energy MT, had violated Article 5 of REMIT, and sanctioned them for market manipulation of the electricity market. This was the first decision of its kind in Bulgaria, setting a significant precedent for the energy market.

Our client, Energy MT, a leading Bulgarian electricity trader, was one of the entities sanctioned under this decision. The team of PMP, including Atanas Valov, head of Litigation and ADR practice of the law firm, and Nikolay Voynov, head of the Energy practice, prepared a comprehensive and motivated appeal, and represented Energy MT in the open hearings.

In October 2023, the first instance court ruled that the EWRC’s decision to impose a REMIT sanction on our client was unlawful. The judicial panel fully accepted our arguments, stating that the EWRC failed to properly qualify and substantiate the infringement. The court found it impossible for one and the same conduct to be both an attempt and a completed act of market manipulation, and criticized the lack of distinction between the different alleged misconducts.

The EWRC has appealed this judgment before the Supreme Administrative Court, which, by virtue of a Decision No. 5741/13.05.2024 under Supreme Administrative Court case 12005/2023, fully upheld the decision of the first instance court and abolished the ungrounded act of EWRC with respect to our client.

We commend the judicial panel for their in-depth consideration of the raised legal argumentation on the importance of the clear and precise qualifications of the alleged market violations under REMIT regulation, which are paramount for ensuring the right of defence of the sanctioned parties and the proper application of the EU regulations in force.

Link to the decision on the web site of the Supreme Administrative Court:

https://info-adc.justice.bg/courts/portal/edis.nsf/e_act.xsp?id=2337608&code=vas&guid=1360577773