Europe’s competition watchdog is investigating whether Greece’s state-owned power utility illegally subsidized smelter Aluminium of Greece by selling it electricity at below-market prices. The European Commission said yesterday that Public Power Corporation (PPC) might have undercharged by 17.4 million euros ($24.5 million) and that it would investigate the case under European Union state aid rules. The Commission said in a statement it would also investigate allegations that state-owned Public Gas Corporation paid the construction costs of a gas pipeline belonging to Aluminium of Greece, Southeast Europe’s biggest aluminum smelter. It did not identify the complainants. “We have to make sure that Aluminium of Greece did not receive an unfair economic advantage over its competitors but paid, as everybody else, the market price for the electricity and gas it bought,” Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes said.