HAMBURG, Germany - Fifty-two customers of the north German gas supplier E.ON Hanse, a subsidiary of energy giant E.ON, have filed a class-action suit with the Hamburg regional court against they say are excessive price rises, the city's consumer association said Tuesday.
The customers argue that a 10-percent price hike last October and a further increase of 2.8 percent with effect from February this year were unjustified and were hoping to force E.ON Hanse to publish its calculations, the association, which is co-ordinating the suit, said.
The class-action suit was the first of its kind filed against an energy supplier in Germany.
At the end of last year, a series of steep price rises for electricity and gas sparked fierce debate in Germany.
Utilities argued that runaway oil prices were to blame for the price increases. But critics suggest that energy suppliers are notching up their prices ahead of the creation of a new sector-wide regulatory body this year.
04/05/2005 14:18 GMT