Chisinau residents to pay more for heating

The Chisinau Municipal Council (CMC) approved of the hike in the heating charge to 536 lei for 1 gcal, in its sitting of Monday, April 14. The municipal directions in charge are to present the regulation on the basis of which compensations will be allocated to the population, till 15 May for the CMC’s approval. Residents will averagely pay 70 lei more for 1 gcal. Termocom’s manager, Dionisie Antocel, has said he’ll sue the CMC’s decision, Info-Prim Neo reports. The new tariff has been approved of with the votes of 27 local councilors, after 4 hours of debates. The Communists voted against, while the Christian-Democrats abstained. General Mayor Dorin Chirtoaca has specified this tariff is a short-term one, which was reckoned taking into account the supplier’s potential and the payment power of the municipal budget and of Chisinau residents. The tariff mirrors but the expenditures directly related to the provision of heating. According to deputy mayor Mihai Furtuna, also the chair of the special commission calculating the tariff, after Termocom proposed a tariff of 723 lei/gcal, they reduced and excluded certain expenditures worth over 81 million lei. They imply repair works, labor retribution and wearing of fixed assets. However, the expenditures planned for the 2008-2009 heating season are higher by 14% than the last season. The deputy mayor remarks that despite the Termocom management’s statements on the company’s precarious condition, it got a profit of over 35 million lei last year. In his speech, the Termocom administrator questioned the figures presented by the special commission. Dionisie Antocel has said the Termocom representatives withdrew from the commission because they were not listened to, and all the decisions were taken unilaterally. Antocel has asked for a 2-3 more weeks to analyze the commission’s report once again and to get additional expertise and advice from the Power Regulator (ANRE). He has questioned that the new tariff does not encompass stringent expenses to repair the pipes worn out in ratio of 70% and has warned the heater may not fully provide heating to the city in case of an accident. The Termocom administrator has warned on curbing on hot water because of possible debts to suppliers in case of a tariff of 536 lei. Referring to Termocom’s last year’s profit, Dionisie Antocel has said it is the merit of the enterprise which managed to optimize expenses. He also says he fully deserves his monthly salary of 15,000 lei, and the labor remuneration at Termocom is among the lowest within the energy sector. Svetlana Popa, the leader of the Communist faction, has opted to send the draft decision for new revision. The councilor has accused the majority coalition of voting for the 2008 budget, declining to include into it the proposal of her faction to envisage 500 million lei more in incomes, which she believes would have been enough to compensate the tariff rise for the people. After the tariff of 536 lei was passed, the Communists councilors proposed that the people further pay 233 lei, and to cover the difference from the municipal budget, but the proposal was rejected as populist. According to the regulation to be finalized till May 15, the population will get compensations of about 300 lei for a certain area, what actually means a 70-lei hike. According to deputy mayor Mihai Furtuna, this “sanitary norm of 9 meters for one dweller” is added to 10 meters for whole family. For example, for an apartment with a surface of 30 sq. meters, dwelt by 2 people, the CMC will offer a compensation for 28 sq. meters. The special commission proposes that the people pay 300 lei per 1 gcal for 28 sq. meters, while for the rest of the area, that is 2 sq. meters, the owners will pay the integral tariff of 536 lei per 1 gcal. The same decision of April 14 establishes the charge for the period 4 December 2007 - 10 April 2008 at 456 lei/gcal. The City Hall’s debts to Termocom skyrockets to over 200 million lei. The CMC’s decision is valid as of the date of being approved of.