In Almaty, the antimonopoly body summed up the results of the work carried out to suppress violations of competition. As a result of the investigation, the main measures of influence were taken on nine cases of abuse of a dominant or monopolistic position. This was stated by Nurzhan Nurlanuly, Head of the Almaty Department of the Agency for Protection and Development of Competition of the Republic of Kazakhstan, at a press conference held at the Regional Communications Service.

According to him, the department's priority is to develop fair competition, protect the rights of an unknown group of consumers and entrepreneurs, and prevent situations that cause unreasonable losses for businesses and the population.

"We are paying attention to the situation in the market and conducting investigations in places where competition is being suppressed. Our task is to create an equal and open environment for all participants. This will directly affect prices, quality of services and the investment climate in the city," says Nurzhan Nurlanuly.

One of the cases that caused a huge stir was the investigation into the wholesale electricity market involving Almaty Electric Power Plants JSC. It was revealed that the company, despite the fact that it was technically unable to provide this service in the Almaty industrial zone, obliged the electricity supplier to provide it through a subsidiary's network and purchase it along with additional services. This imposed an additional burden on 118 enterprises operating in the zone, as well as residents with a total investment of more than 400 billion tenge.

"Such conditions practically negate the effectiveness of state support aimed at reducing energy costs. If the court recognizes the department's conclusions as legitimate and a final decision is made, the rights of more than a hundred entrepreneurs will be protected," the speaker noted.

An investigation is also underway into the airline FlyArystan. The department found that the carrier charged the same fee for excess baggage regardless of the actual excess weight.

"We see that there is a practice of differentiated payment in the market based on actual excess weight. Refusal of this approach, in our opinion, restricts the rights of an unknown group of consumers. Therefore, an investigation has been launched against the airline," said Nurzhan Nurlanuly.

Another example concerns INVIVO Business LLP. The franchise agreement contains provisions restricting cooperation with competitors for 24 months after the termination of the contract. After the warning was issued, the company removed the relevant clauses. As a result, the rights of 143 entities operating in the laboratory services market in 16 cities of the country were protected.

In the field of heat supply, the department also revealed a violation of the law by Almaty Heat System LLP: when reconnecting to heat energy, a 10% profit was added to the tariff, while the current rules provide for reimbursement of only actual costs. As a result, the cost of services for Almaty residents was reduced by 10%.