(Bloomberg) --

Power-cable makers, including Nexans SA and Prysmian S.p.A., face a UK class action lawsuit linked to a historic cartel case that could seek millions of pounds in compensation for electricity customers.

Clare Spottiswoode, the former head of Britain’s gas regulator, has applied to the Competition Appeal Tribunal for approval to bring a collective action on behalf of UK consumers, according to a statement Wednesday.

The suit follows on from a European Commission 2014 decision that found a number of cable companies operated a cartel on an “almost worldwide scale” from 1999 until regulators raided the firms in 2009. Spottiswoode and law firm Scott+Scott allege that the cartel raised the price of cables used by energy firms, which in turn passed on the costs to households.

“Domestic electricity customers in Great Britain paid inflated energy bills for many years through no fault of their own,” Spottiswoode said in a statement. 

The claim will now need to be approved by the CAT. The amount of compensation and customers involved is still to be determined, but James Hain-Cole, a lawyer at Scott+Scott, estimated that both could be in the millions. 

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