Chisinau residents will not pay more for heat until the end of this heating season

By the end of the current heating season, the heating charge for the population of Chisinau will remain unchanged. At least this derives from the words of the Mayor General of Chisinau Dorin Chirtoaca, who said that until April they should decide on the heating charge for 2008 and on the method of paying it, Info-Prim Neo reports. According to Dorin Chirtoaca, it is only a month until the end of the present heating season, but the discussions over the rise in the heating charge remained at the same level as in October-November 2007. Deputy mayor Mihai Furtuna said that Termocom SA has not yet presented the materials required to draft a new decision to fix the heating tariff for the current heating season. The commercial director of Termocom SA Mihai Arusoi replied that they presented the calculations for a new tariff last November. But it was agreed that the heat supplier should present the financial results for the entire last year in order to fix a real charge and this information could be presented only after February 20. Mihai Arusoi said that a special commission was set up to assess the losses sustained by Termocom SA last year. It includes specialists of the Technical University of Moldova. Their findings will be presented to the Chisinau Municipal Council for consideration until next Thursday. Termocom SA says that the artificial maintenance of the heating charge is inadmissible in the present circumstances because the energy suppliers do not accept new debts anymore. The reductions in the volume of natural gas supplied by Moldova – Gaz SA can result in the disruption of the centralised heat supply in the municipality of Chisinau. At end-January, the Court of Appeals Chisinau ruled in favour of Termocom SA in a suit filed against the Chisinau Council. Termocom asked the court to annul the Council’s decision of December 4 by which the heating charge of 540 lei fixed on January 25, 2007 was cancelled. The Chisinau administration was obliged to pay 100 million lei to the company for not covering the difference in the charge of 233 lei paid by the population and the tariff of 540 lei per Gcalorie.