Politicians associated with the ruling party urge not to look for holes in everything and just be glad that prices at the Orlen stations did not go up after January 1. “If there were any violations in the market, we always have the Office for Competition and Consumer Protection, which can intervene,” Anna Moskva convinces. And so it will be: the UOKiK “does not rule out interference in this case.”
Drivers are not surprised, despite the fact that the VAT on fuel has returned to the level of 23 percent. (a reduced 8% rate was in effect in 2022), and the fuel charge increased by about PLN 0.14 per liter of gasoline and by PLN 0.10 per liter of diesel fuel, prices at Orlen stations did not change. It soon became clear that this was due to Orlen significantly reduced wholesale fuel prices in recent days, at the same time Prices at the stations. This immediately raised questions about whether Orlen had inflated prices in the last quarter and whether the wholesale price could have been lowered earlier.
The authority that can verify the legitimacy of such a claim is the Competition and Consumer Protection Authority. When asked by journalists from TVN24 whether Orlen’s actions are incompatible with consumer rights, OOCC replied that it should analyze the case and does not rule out interference in this case.
The Office also wrote that “The President of WOQC can only intervene in the setting of prices by enterprises in special cases, for example, if they are the result of collusion with another person or persons or abuse of dominance by market magnates. This interference has an indirect dimension, that is, through the elimination of the illegal activities of the entrepreneur.”
Orlen did not lower prices so that drivers would not queue at the stations?
How does Orlen respond to the allegations?
PKN Orlen Adam B. Czyzewski explained in an interview with the Polish Press Agency that Orlen was motivated by a desire to avoid a “growth in demand” that, with limited supply, would have resulted in queues at gas stations and a lack of fuel. So, to paraphrase: Orlen did not lower the wholesale price earlier to save drivers from standing in long lines, because if prices fall, interest in shopping will definitely increase.
– We are accused of the fact that since we lowered the price on December 30, we could have done it earlier. We could not, because the market situation is such that we would have led to queues at the stations. And now the retail price has not fallen, because it still has nowhere to fall due to limited supply, ”Chizhevsky explained.
“The main thing is that prices do not rise”
Politicians in the ruling party see no problem. Climate and Environment Minister Anna Moskva said on RMF FM on Monday that “the most important thing is that prices have not risen, and this has been announced.” – If there was some kind of abnormal behavior in the market, we always have the WOC, which can intervene. If there is no such intervention, no control, no conclusions, then the situation is stable and correct, she added.
Calmness is also recommended by former Deputy Prime Minister Jadwiga Emilevich. “Let’s wait for the Competition and Consumer Protection Authority to explain whether the fuel prices we had in the last months of last year were adequate, reasonable, dictated by the rules of the market or not,” she said in an afternoon interview with RMF FM.
- This year has been crazy in terms of fuel prices - since the very beginning of this year, when (price - ed.) a barrel soared very high. Indeed, prices began to fall in the second half of the year, but it is also worth remembering that Poland is part of the single European market. (…) We also remember what happens when fuel is radically cheaper in Poland than, for example, in our western neighbors. Then queues form at distributors in Poland, so this is also a fuel safety issue. However, as I have already said: let’s wait for the explanations of the UCPC on this matter. I think this is good news for drivers, but prices, despite the increase in VAT, have not increased, she added.
Government spokesman Piotr Müller argued in Polsat News that the fuel is purchased in cycles in bulk quantities and stored in warehouses, so the price it is sold at may differ from the price at which it was bought by Orlen. - We have a situation where the price of fuel is unchanged, and we are scolded for this. If today prices were higher than abroad, one can criticize, but not otherwise, Müller believes..
Have we overpaid for fuel? The economist explains.
It is difficult to unequivocally assess whether Orlen applied unfair policies, as we do not know when it bought the fuel sold at the end of the year, Piotr Kuczynski, an analyst at Dom Inwestycyjny Xelion, pointed out in an interview report with Wprost.
- Of course, I hear voices that PKN Orlen made money on us. He may have actually made money, but assuming he was producing fuel from oil bought in October or November (more or less since October the złoty has been strengthening and the price of crude oil has been falling). If he bought it, for example, four months ago, he no longer looks like this - stressed the economist.
“How it happened in reality, no one knows. My guess is that when it comes to production, it doesn’t work like this: today I have a world market price of $80 per barrel, and Orlen takes this price for calculations. The company is likely using the price at which it bought the oil, i.e. the price four months ago, when the zloty was much weaker and crude oil more expensive. Thus, Orlen can defend himself by saying that he sells oil from old stocks when it was more expensive - added.
Source: Wprost
