Termocom heater asks court to make Chisinau Hall pay debt

The Chisinau heating supplier “Termocom” SA lodged a request with the Chisinau Economic Court asking for 125 million lei from the City Hall for the heating provided in December and January, Info-Prim Neo reports. The municipal public administration considers the suit unfair and abusive, as it appealed a previous decision of this kind at the Supreme Court of Justice. Recently the Court of Appeals annulled the decision of Chisinau Municipal Council (CMC) abrogating the tariff of 540 lei per 1 Gigacalorie. Deputy mayor, Mihai Furtuna, told the Hall’s sitting on Monday, 17 March, that the request of “Termocom” SA represented a new attempt of harassing the municipality. He believes it would have been fair that, first, the CMC should approve of a new heating charge, and then to make the relevant recalculations. On 27 February, “Termocom” SA proposed a charge of 715 lei/Gcal. Meanwhile Termocom’s calculations imply that the real tariff would be about 912 lei, said the deputy mayor. He says Termocom refuses to submit a new draft decision in compliance with the requirements of the National Energy Regulating Agency, and the report on the 2007 budget year. According to Mihai Furtuna, till March 20, the municipal subdivisions will decide on a new tariff, which will be discussed by the CMC. In this respect, the official has pointed out that Termocom ended the 2007 budget year with a profit of 36 million lei. Furtuna has concluded that the CMC’s decision of December 4 abrogating the tariff was a correct one. The deputy mayor asserts that the actual charge is certainly less than 540 lei/Gcal. General mayor Dorin Chirtoaca has outlined the risk that the courts may oblige the municipality to pay a charge of 540 lei for the heating supplied from 4 December to the end of the heating season. The second risk seen by the mayor is that the courts may establish a tariff of 912 lei, obliging the municipality to further pay the subvention or to raise the charge for the population. Chirtoaca has urged the municipal subdivisions to calculate the tariff in the most open manner possible, with the participation of the Energy Regulator, of international experts, of academicians, but also of Termocom representatives. The mayor has said this data should get a “cutthroat” verification. According to him, in case the CMC adopts the tariffs, it can be necessary to reason it in court. “We need to have the exact figure, not the one the Government wants to impel on us through Termocom and courts,” Dorin Chirtoaca has said. He has underlined that approving of the tariff is the competence of the CMC only, while the court can only recommend another charge. “In case the courts adopt the tariff instead of the local public administrations, this means it will be established by the Government, and put on the shoulders of the local administration, as happened with the apartments and other delegated powers, without financial cover,” the mayor said. On March 17, at 15.00, a new court session in the lawsuit filed by Termocom is scheduled, the supplier having asked the court to oblige the municipality to raise the heat charge. Later in January the Chisinau-based Court of Appeals annulled the CMC’s decision of 4 December 2007 which abrogated the tariff of 540 lei. The municipality was obliged to pay the supplier 100 million lei, an arrear accumulating because of the difference between 233 lei – the charge paid off by the population – and the actual tariff of 540 lei. Now another lawsuit is being heard. The monopoly heater demanded the court to impel the CMC to increase the thermal tariff.