Italy's antitrust watchdog probes Iren, Iberdrola, E.ON over customer contracts

MILAN (Reuters) - Italy's competition watchdog has opened inquiries into Italian utility Iren, Spain's Iberdrola and German's E.ON over some of their alleged electricity and gas contract practices with customers, it said on Wednesday.

The authority accused Iren and fellow Italian utility Dolomiti of making unlawful unilateral changes in the electricity supply price, it said in its statement.

Iren said in response that its actions were in line with rules and it was committed to protecting its customers struggling with rising energy prices.

International energy companies Iberdrola and E.ON have also been challenged over the way they communicated with customers in Italy who were having difficulties paying their bills and were then offered new contracts on worse terms.

E.ON said in a statement its Italian division was fully cooperating with authorities. "E.ON Italia is trusting in a positive outcome of the proceedings initiated and currently underway, believing that it has acted legitimately and in compliance with current regulations," it said.

Iberdrola said that given the current volatility in energy prices it was acting in its customers' best interests when it proposed to terminate electricity and gas supply contracts of clients in Italy "who can find, in other agents, solutions more adapted to their needs, including the regulated tariff".

The utility added it was cooperating with authorities in the investigation and that its actions were in line with the law.

The competition authority also requested information from 25 companies, including the main energy operators in Italy, to acquire copies of any communications sent to consumers that might breach rules on electricity and gas supply prices.

(Reporting by Cristina Carlevaro in Milan, Jesus Aguado in Madrid and Tom Kaeckenhoff in Duesseldorf, editing by Alvise Armellini and Mark Potter)