German watchdog, gas firms agree concessions deal

BONN, Dec 1 (Reuters) - The German cartel office agreed to drop investigations into alleged gas price gouging by utilities in return for concessions to customers worth 127 million euros ($164 million), the antitrust watchdog said on Monday.

The regulator will stop proceedings against 29 utilities of the 33 it was still investigating, it said. The concessions include the 55 million euros the cartel office extracted in October from E.ON (EONGn.DE), Germany's largest gas company, it said.

RWE offered concessions worth 18 million euros, the agency said. RWE confirmed the company had come to an agreement with the Bonn-based authority.

The concessions include vouchers for customers, reduced prices and delays in tariff hikes, it said.

The probe, which sources told Reuters last week the cartel office had agreed to drop, was launched early this year when gas prices had been rising sharply for three years, affecting consumers and contributing to inflation.

Cartel laws were tightened this year, forcing energy companies suspected of profiteering to disclose parts of their calculations on pricing, passing the burden of proof from regulators to utilities. (Reporting by Tom Kaeckenhoff; editing by John Stonestreet)