I don't think this is so much about competition. I live in Vienna where most flats get heat and warm water from gas-powered combination boilers. There are a co

I don't think this is so much about competition. I live in Vienna where most flats get heat and warm water from gas-powered combination boilers. There are a couple of companies who produce them. Mine is 25 years old. The guy who comes for maintenance once a year says it should have broken down 10 years ago and he is only doing little fixes, but not swapping out larger parts anymore because: "If I replace something big, it might just stop working, then you have to get a new boiler, and those are all bad and break after 3 years."