The Bundeskartellamt, Germany's competition authority, has announced that it has largely concluded its investigations into energy price controls, which were implemented during the energy crisis of 2022/2023. These controls allowed consumers to pay a state-determined price for a specific amount of energy, while energy suppliers received corresponding compensation from the government.

To prevent energy suppliers from unjustifiably increasing prices to receive higher state compensation, the Bundeskartellamt enforced oversight measures. According to Andreas Mundt, the president of the authority, concerns were raised in less than a third of the completed investigations, but suppliers were able to address these concerns through refunds or by lowering their advance payment requests.

In total, the authority has conducted 70 investigations into gas, electricity, and heat suppliers, reviewing about 14% of the total application volume, which exceeded €25 billion at the time of the investigations. The authority selected companies for review based on specific anomalies in their application data, including municipal utilities, regional suppliers, and energy discounters.

So far, nine investigations remain open against four suppliers in the gas and electricity sectors, with hearings and further investigations currently underway. The proactive approach of the Bundeskartellamt has allowed the industry to adjust to its scrutiny standards early on, providing an 'early warning' effect beyond the specific investigations.