Solar energy firm agrees to pay Competition Commission penalty, but without admission of guilt
The Competition Tribunal has confirmed, as an order, a consent agreement in which Gauteng-based solar energy firm Pacific Solar has agreed to pay a R200 000 administrative penalty after it was accused of collusion by the Competition Commission.
Although Pacific Solar agrees to the terms of the consent agreement, including paying the R200 000 administrative penalty, it does not admit that it contravened the Act, as alleged by the commission.
The consent agreement stems from two separate complaints against Pacific Solar and another company for alleged collusive tendering related to two separate tenders involving the Council for Geoscience (CGS) and the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE).
The tender issued by the CGS in 2021 was for the supply and delivery of multi-functional drill rigs with service and maintenance for a period of three years. The DMRE tender was for the appointment of a panel of nongrid service providers to supply, install and maintain solar home systems for a three-year period.
In October 2021, the CGS submitted a complaint to the commission alleging that Pacific Solar and the other company had agreed or engaged in a concerted practice to tender collusively when responding to its tender.
The commission said its investigation found that the firms had assisted each other in preparing and pricing their bids.
In May 2022, the DMRE submitted a separate complaint to the commission, alleging that the two firms had tendered collusively in response to its tender.
The commission again concluded that the companies had assisted each other to prepare and price their bids in response to the DMRE tender.
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