Danish energy minister calls for talks to end exploitative business models

Denmark’s climate, energy, and supply minister Samira Nawa will convene discussions after the summer recess with political parties, consumer groups, and the energy sector to address concerns over exploitative practices in the electricity market, she announced on LinkedIn.

Nawa highlighted recent cases involving electricity suppliers Velkommen and Nettopower, which faced criticism for high advance payments that customers struggled to reclaim. Customers from these companies were recently transferred to Energidrift A/S, with suspicions that up to 1,100 were moved without consent.

“Far too many electricity customers have lived in the Wild West for far too long. That is unacceptable,” Nawa wrote.

The minister said she aims to eliminate exploitative business models and is open to proposals, including banning advance payments. She also questioned whether authorities have sufficient powers to act and how to target unethical companies without harming customers or compliant firms.

New rules introduced on 1 July require new electricity contracts to be approved via MitID validation or a signature.