The Emergency Response Service aims to help decrease the need for large-scale load shedding. Credit: torstengrieger via Shutterstock.

An unidentified Danish electricity producer was reported to the police this week for alleged insider trading after failing to disclose a reduction in production capacity, Bloomberg reports.

The company bought electricity on the European intraday market at prices lower than they would have been had it followed EU rules and published information about its capacity reduction sooner, the Danish Utility Regulator said in a statement on Wednesday.

Go deeper with GlobalData

Data Insights

The gold standard of business intelligence.

Find out more

Related Company Profiles

View all

“When a market participant gains access to knowledge that can have a significant impact on price formation on the market, the person concerned has a duty to publish the knowledge in question before the participant may act on it,” reads the report from the Danish Supply Authority’s director, Carsten Smidt. “We have a well-founded suspicion that this has not happened in this case, which is why we have now reported the company to the police.”

The electricity producer has been notified for a breach of the obligation to publish internal information and the ban on insider trading in the EU’s rules for integrity and transparency on the wholesale markets for trading in electricity and gas, the statement said.

European power prices surged to record highs last year after gas and oil flow from Russia was severely reduced. This was compounded further by issues with French nuclear reactors, resulting in significant output decline. The increasing share of intermittent renewable energy in the market system has also boosted volatility to its highest ever.

According to Bloomberg, Smidt said the regulator is looking into “a number of cases” of alleged insider trading due to high market volatility.

How well do you really know your competitors?

Access the most comprehensive Company Profiles on the market, powered by GlobalData. Save hours of research. Gain competitive edge.

Company Profile – free sample

Thank you!

Your download email will arrive shortly

Not ready to buy yet? Download a free sample

We are confident about the unique quality of our Company Profiles. However, we want you to make the most beneficial decision for your business, so we offer a free sample that you can download by submitting the below form

By GlobalData
Visit our Privacy Policy for more information about our services, how we may use, process and share your personal data, including information of your rights in respect of your personal data and how you can unsubscribe from future marketing communications. Our services are intended for corporate subscribers and you warrant that the email address submitted is your corporate email address.

Separately, surges in prices and heightened unpredictably also led to traders taking huge bonuses in 2022. Three traders at Energi Danmark Group, one of the nation’s biggest energy firms, were dismissed after refusing to forfeit bonuses worth as much as $44m (DKK 300m).

The Danish Supply Authority has handed the case over to the National Unit for Special Crime, which is the relevant police authority.