“Apa-Canal Chisinau” asks again Chisinau Municipal Council to increase tariffs for water

Director of JSC “Apa-Canal Chisinau” (ACC), Constantin Becciev, asks again the Chisinau Municipal Council to urgently change the tariffs for the tap and sewerage water in Chisinau in order to avoid the bankruptcy of the enterprise and to solve its serious economic problems. The enterprise is working in extremely difficult conditions, Becciev announced on August 15 to the radio station “Antena C”. In October ACC must pay a new installment of the credit given by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. The enterprise delays paying wages to employees more than 20 days already, fact which is seriously criticized by the Trade Union. At the same time, because of the accumulated debts, suppliers of other services passed from warnings to halting their deliveries. At the same time, Union Fenosa started to disconnect the objects of ACC, including pumping stations. “We are forced to use autonomous stations for electric power and to supply our consumers who do not have water with tank trucks”, Becciev said. According to the quoted source, in the light of this situation, ACC is forced to submit to CMC a new draft for changing the tariffs for water. If the request will not be accepted, the enterprise will ask compensation for financial loss. Becciev expressed his regret with the fact that MPs went on vacation without deciding on shifting the competences of examining and changing tariffs for water supply services to the National Agency for Energy Regulation. The tariffs for the water supply services are the same in Chisinau for 5 years already, being the Moldova’s lowest. According to an opinion poll produced in February-January 2006 by “Ecosfera” Association and Chisinau’s Territorial Organization of the Ecologist Movement of Moldova, 80% of the questioned water consumers acknowledge the fact that the tariffs will be increased. The poll found that even if the present tariff is accepted by the majority of consumers from Chisinau, many of them consider that they do not correspond to the real costs. At the same time, in case the tariffs will be increased, consumers plead in favor of applying preferential tariffs for some underprivileged categories.