Electrical equipment suppliers in Romania fined for anticompetition deal

Romania’s Competition Council sanctioned one local company and two foreign firms for an agreement aimed at limiting the sale of a type of electricity measuring equipment in the country. Romanian firm ABC Brasov, German firm GMC Messtechnik and American firm Dranetz Technologies, got fines totaling RON 4.95 million (some EUR 1.1 million). The German company received the highest sanction, namely RON 3.85 million (EUR 826,000). The Competition Council found that the three companies agreed that ABC Brasov would become the only supplier for the TR2520A electricity measuring equipment in Romania. The German and American companies agreed to supply this type of equipment only to this firm, which would thus become the only bidder in public procurement procedures organized by local companies for this type of equipment. The Competition Council’s investigation started after a complained filed by a company that participated in a tender organized by electrical maintenance firm Electrica Serv. “The three companies removed competition and limited and controlled the selling of this equipment, the organizer of the auction having no other alternative to acquire this equipment,” the Competition Council said in a press release. The competition watchdog has issued several big fines since the beginning of this year, after finalizing investigations on the electrical equipment market and security services market. editor@romania-insider.com