Inspections by the Competition Commission (CC) are focused on northern Greece, where companies providing services to municipal water utilities are suspected of rigging public tenders, according to market sources.
The CC announced yesterday that it carried out a surprise inspection on 20 October at companies operating and maintaining water supply and sewerage networks, as well as treating wastewater and supplying related equipment.
According to sources, this is a continuation of an investigation that has been under way for some time, not only by the CC but also by the National Transparency Authority (NTA) and the European Public Prosecutor’s Office, into possible irregularities in the case of digital, or smart, water meters.
Companies under scrutiny
Although the CC’s latest inspections are focused on northern Greece, they also concern the rest of the country. Sources add that those under scrutiny are mostly small businesses with up to 15 employees.
The CC is investigating possible collusion between competitors aimed at rigging public tenders (bid rigging), inspecting businesses that may hold evidence of possible anti-competitive practices in the market under investigation.
The cost of smart water meters
As for the alleged overpricing of water meters, the NTA has been investigating the case for more than a year. Evidence points to irregularities in more than 50 procurement contracts by municipalities and municipal water and sewerage companies (DEYAs).
According to complaints, equipment overpricing is alleged to have reached as much as 700%, while studies are said to have been agreed in advance, leading to inflated project scopes and the procurement of more water meters than were needed.
In essence, these are practices to manipulate tenders, enabling the companies involved to secure more favourable terms for participating than their competitors.
Sources say the findings of the NTA report are particularly damning for the municipalities, DEYAs and companies involved in carrying out the projects. As the projects are funded by the NSRF, the matter is reportedly under investigation by European Prosecutor Ms Kövesi.