According to the procurement watchdog, an electricity purchase tender organized by Latvian Railways, the national rail company, ended on May 26. Latvenergo was named the winner of the competition.
On May 31, however, the Procurement Monitoring Bureau received a complaint from Enefit, alleging various irregularities in the tender. According to Enefit, Latvian Railways, for instance, had asked the bidders to consider lowering their prices and to submit new offers.
Enefit indicated that any changes in bids aimed at reducing prices effectively decide the result of the negotiations procedure. Enefit noted that in this case both bidders knew the original price proposals.
As a result, Latvian Railways created the situation where Latvenergo could in any case offer a lower price than Enefit, the Latvian subsidiary of the Estonian energy company argued.
Latvian Railways rejects these allegations.
The Procurement Monitoring Bureau believes, however, that the procurement commission has committed serious violations that could have influenced the outcome of the tender. The procurement watchdog has ordered the rail company to arrange new talks with the potential electricity suppliers and repeatedly assess their bids.
