A French energy giant has been fined £2.1 million after one of its traders manipulated gas prices in Britain.
Ofgem, the energy regulator, said that a trader at Engie’s Global Markets business had engaged in “spoofing” to manipulate gas prices in the market from June to August 2016.
This involved “manipulating prices by placing bids or offers to trade with no intention of executing those bids or offers in order to buy or sell at a higher or lower price and increase trading profits”.
This raises the possibility that gas prices could have been artificially inflated, forcing customers to pay more. Ofgem declined to comment on whether this was the case.
The regulator said it had found no evidence of widespread manipulation by Engie but