City Hall to pay heating charge difference until a new charge is approved

The City Hall will continue to pay the difference in heating charges until the Chisinau Municipal Council (CMC) approves a new charge for the heat delivered by Termocom, Chisinau General Mayor Dorin Chirtoaca told Saturday, December 29, at the local administration generalization meeting for the year 2007. According to Dorin Chirtoaca, this decision follows an agreement made with representatives of heat and electric power stations, Termocom and Moldova-Gaz. It was also agreed that immediately until January 4 Termocom is to submit the report on company’s expenses for the year 2007 to the National Agency for Energy Regulation and then to the CMC for it to examine and approve a new heating charge. In exchange of the City Hall commitment to pay the difference in heating charges, representatives of the above mentioned structures will make efforts not to decrease the temperature of the delivered heat. “This is an agreement based on confidence between the involved sides and I hope it will be respected”, the mayor said. Although hot water deliveries resumed after local authorities had paid 48 ml lei to Termocom, the temperature of the delivered heat was lowered, this leading to the decrease in temperature in the apartments. This, according to Termocom, is due to the fact that Moldova Gaz had lowered by 20% natural gas deliveries to power plants because of the unpaid current consumption charges. This situation could come to an end only after the City Hall pays the remaining 100 ml lei, accumulated as a result of the CMC decision to increase the heating charge from 233 to 540 lei, while the difference between the old and the new charge followed to be paid from the local budget. The City Hall called Termocom actions groundless and speculations to the detriment of people’s health, as Termocom continues to make profits that should be used by the company to cover its production costs. CMC has recently repealed the charge of 540 lei which supposed the payment of the charge difference by local authorities, but continued to pay it after Termocom had stopped hot water supplies.