A court case against Ørsted on alleged overcharging for electricity exceeding DKK 4bn (USD 720m) will continue at the Danish Maritime and Commercial High Court.

Last week, the court decided to leave EU court of justice out of the dispute.

The case against Ørsted Bioenergy & Thermal Power A/S was filed by Energi Danmark A/S.

More than 1,000 companies claim they have been overcharged. All totaled, the claim exceeds USD 4bn.

Proceedings have gone on for years, since the case was originally filed back in 2007, but it has faced several obstacles along the way.

Back in 2020, Ørsted was acquitted by the Maritime and Commercial High Court on account of a ruling in a parallel case between the Danish Competition and Consumer Authority and Ørsted which was deemed to have had an impact on consumers’ claim. Price spikes were ruled legal.

But Energi Danmark filed an appeal which ended up annulling the acquittal in September 2021.

And that is why the Maritime and Commercial High Court is to take another assessment of the major claim. Having the EU court weigh in was thought to cause unnecessary delays to the proceedings and was left out.