Nearly PLN 120 million in penalties have been imposed by the President of UOKiK on Veolia Polska group companies for these practices. A manager who was directly responsible for violating applicable regulations has been penalised for the first time as well.
According to information gathered by UOKiK, the entrepreneurs concluded a competition-restricting agreement that was in effect from 2014 to 2017. Veolia announced its intentions to erect a combined heat and power plant in Warsaw, and PGNiG Termika started to operate proactively on the heat market, taking over individual customers of Veolia.
– The operators decided they would keep out of each other’s way and allocated the market between them. PGNiG Termika focused on generating heat, while Veolia Energia Warszawa concentrated on selling it. Both companies were also aligning their tendering and pricing strategies – says the President of UOKiK.
For the first time in the history of UOKiK, financial penalties have also been imposed on employees managing the companies and being in charge of the illegal arrangements. The ability to implement such penalties was first introduced to the Polish law in 2015. The President of the Authority decided that the then-President of the Management Board of Veolia Energia Warszawa, and his counterpart at PGNiG Termika, intentionally restricted market competition, inter alia by actively participating in arrangements concerning the scope and the implementation of illegal practices. The President of UOKiK imposed on Veolia’s companies penalties of nearly PLN 120 million. The decision is not final and may be appealed against to court.
PGNiG Termika submitted crucial evidence proving existence of the collusion. The evidence comprised, inter alia, e-mail correspondence. The information obtained served as a basis for conducting a search at the seat of Veolia Energia Warszawa, during which further evidence was obtained. In the course of the procedure, PGNiG Termika continued to submit other important pieces of information, both upon request and on its own accord. The application submitted by PGNiG Termika covered also PGNiG and its President of the Management Board between 2014 and 2016. Without the submission of the said application and their cooperation with UOKiK, the entities would face penalties of over PLN 486 million.
– The proceedings were initiated by PGNiG Termika, as it decided to take advantage of the leniency programme and reported the collusion scheme to UOKiK, presenting details of the arrangements made. With the evidential value of the materials submitted and the full-scale cooperation with the Authority taken into consideration, I decided to waive the imposition of the monetary penalty on PGNiG group companies and on their manager, in compliance with the idea behind the leniency programme – concludes the President of UOKiK.
