20 families of Sangerei are switched off the natural gas pipeline

20 families of town Sangerei were switched off, on Tuesday, 21 February, of the gas pipeline, because they did not want to conclude contracts with the new gas supplier, the leader of the initiative group, Oleg Jardan, reported about this. According to him, initially all the inhabitants were switched off. „Those who, under the threatening of the local administration, agree to concluded contract with the new gas supplier, were reconnected, the rest continue to be switched off,” Oleg Jardan mentioned. The leader of the initiative group said that this is a violation of human rights and announced the regional prosecution and the Ministry of Industry and Infrastructure, and shall address a letter to general prosecution and president of Moldova. „Those 20 families do not want to concluded contracts with the new supplier as the pipelines were built on citizens’ money, everyone of them paying 10,000 lei. Previously the local mayoralty promised that the new gas supplier will reimburse the money, or at leas a part of it. Now the latter one does not want to compensate these expenses,” Oleg Jardan noted. The head of the gas and energy resources department within the ministry of industry and infrastructure, Mihai Dolma, mentioned that these consumers would be connected to gas pipeline on Wednesday, 22 February. In the same time, he underlined that it would be created a commission investigating the case and establishing who has the responsibility for created conflict. According to him, the local public administration is involved in this. „In Sangerei the owner of gas pipelines has changed and all consumers of this locality shall revise the contracts with the Company Balti Gaz to conclude contract with the new owner, Nord Gaz. But the inhabitants had to be explained this thing, without making these switching in winter,” Mihai Dolma explained. The chairman of the League for Consumer Rights Protection, Roman Mihaes said that in case when the owner changes, the consumers have to be informed in advance in order not to create confusions, as in this case. According to him, if certain persons have debts for gas consummation, the latter ones have to be warned that they will be switched off, in case the debts are not paid. In this case, Mihaes said, a reasonable term has to be respected, in order to allow these consumers to make their opinion, or they have pretensions to the service, or the price. „The supplier has the right to switch off the consumer only when all the provisions of the law were respected, including the Law on consumers protection. In case the law is violated, the person who was violated the rights can address an appeal to the National Agency for Energy Regulations, or can address in court,” Roman Mihaes mentioned.