Recent gas industry developments have antitrust meanings

✍ Scribed by Walker, May Ann ;Levy, Neil Lawrence

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 2007
• Weight: 531 KB
• Volume: 12
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0743-5665
• DOI: 10.1002/gas.3410121004

✦ Synopsis

Antitrust laws are not regulation but instead are intended to preserve a competitive free market economy.

By design, antitrust principles are applied on a case-by-case basis. For example, for most noncriminal conduct, a rule-of-reason analysis applies. On the part of both prosecutors and judges, this rule requires a balancing of the procompetitive and anticompetitive effects of the relevant conduct in evaluating whether such action violates any antitrust laws. In fact, some practices may be legal in one set of circumstances, where there is no market or monopoly power, and illegal in another set of circumstances, such as where there is market or monopoly power and high barriers to entry. Therefore, companies are urged by the Department of Justice (DOJ) to evaluate their activities in light of this new competitive environment and carefully plan to avoid serious problems.