Termocom to talk with Chisinau Council factions over heating tariffs

Chisinau’s heat supplier Termocom says in a press release it will initiate talks with the factions which currently form the Chisinau City Council (CMC), except the Liberal Party’s one, in an effort to find solutions for the dispute related to a potential increase in the heating charge. In addition, Termocom is determined to seek justice in court, if the talks fail to bring about the desired outcomes. Termocom’s management says it will submit to the CMC a new package of documents containing the calculations for the heating charge, updated to the financial report for 2007. From now on, the heat distributor refuses categorically to present any other information to the City Hall and will not attend any other meetings at the City Hall, until the heating charge is increased. Neither will the company’s officials make any public statement about the charge, declared Termocom. The company notes with regret that the attitude of the City Hall and the Council is “hostile and counterproductive”. “The draft for the heating charge for 2008, calculated and worked out in strict accordance with the legislation, was made available for the CMC on 27 November 2007. Yet, the City Hall and the Council are requesting new details on a daily basis almost, which they use as mere pretexts for delaying the approval of the charge”, the communique reads. The management of the company asserts that over the recent years it has taken a series of measures to cut costs, guarantee the steadiness of supplies and improve their quality. The costs of the enterprise have been reduced by over 251 million lei per year from 2001, while the number of employees was cut by over 700, meaning more than one-third. At the same time, the administration admits that the company’s infrastructure is old and worn out at a 70-percent level, and there are no available funds for its restoration. “It is not Termocom’s fault that the prices of energy resources are rising each year. But the city authorities, out of populist reasons, are stubbornly unwilling to recognise this fact and are trying to maintain the heating charge at the level of 1999. Given these circumstances, Termocom finds it increasingly difficult to guarantee the normal functioning of the heating system and prepare it for the next heating season”, the communique adds. Termocom’s debts owed to its suppliers for December 2007 and January 2008 alone exceed 190 million lei, in addition to over 120 million lei that the company will have to pay for February. This may be a reason for the suppliers to reduce or even disrupt the supplies of energy resources at any time, warns Termocom. The city authorities have warned in turn that, if Termocom’s request to raise the charge for heating to 715 lei is satisfied, the entire activity of the Chisinau administration would be strained. Earlier, Mayor Dorin Chirtoaca has stated that all the actions by the central authorities, including the heating charge issue, are meant to push the City Hall into a financial failure.