Warsaw, October 2, 2025 – Poland’s Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKiK) has brought charges against four gas meter suppliers suspected of engaging in a bid-rigging scheme that may have distorted public tenders organized by the national gas distribution system operator, Polska Spółka Gazownictwa (PSG).
According to the regulator, the alleged conduct could have harmed the State Treasury and, indirectly, all gas consumers by inflating costs in tenders for bellows gas meters, which are widely used in households across Poland. UOKiK suspects that the companies —Apator Metrix, Intergaz, Fiorentini Polska, and Elektrometal — coordinated their bids between 2014 and 2021, instead of competing fairly in PSG’s recurring procurement processes.
The authority obtained evidence that company representatives held meetings in private venues, including hotels and restaurants. According to UOKiK, these meetings and communications — also carried out via phone calls and messaging platforms — may have been used to divide contracts and coordinate bids.
Before each tender, firms allegedly agreed which parts of the order each would target and negotiated who would win specific lots. In some cases, they may have submitted courtesy bids, deliberately less competitive offers designed to simulate market rivalry.
“We suspect that, instead of competing for contracts, these companies may have colluded for seven years to decide which of them would win specific tenders,” said UOKiK President Tomasz Chróstny.
Source: https://uokik.gov.pl/dostawy-gazomierzy-prezes-uokik-stawia-zarzuty-czterem-spolkom
