All European utilities have had a bad year. Lower commodity prices, expensive infrastructure and costly environmental regulations have led most to post significant impairments on power generation assets, particularly dirtier, older plants. But this month has been especially rough for French utility Engie, intent on transitioning to a greener and more gas-focused portfolio, with a string of bad news further undermining its financial standing. The European Commission revealed last week that it had opened a probe to determine whether a series of tax rulings in Luxembourg meant Engie had potentially not paid enough tax. Brussels said that from September 2008, Luxembourg's "double non-taxation" gave the company an unfair advantage, potentially breaching EU state-aid laws. It did not specify how much it was talking about, but noted that a "significant proportion" of Engie's profits were not taxed. An Engie spokesman told WGI the company intended to collaborate fully with Brussels on the investigation.
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