Chisinau City Hall functionaries say heating charge should be by 110 lei lower than the one approved this January

The General Finance Division of the Chisinau Municipal Council (CMC) says that the real heating charge should be at most 430 lei and not 540 lei as decided at the start of this year in accordance with the calculations presented by the heat supplier Termocom SA. At Monday’s meeting of the Chisinau City Hall, the Division’s head Valentina Vazdautan said that such a conclusion was reached by specialists of the division after assessing the real expenses of the heat supplier. She said that not to question the accuracy of the respective calculations, there should be carried out an independent audit. If the external assessment justifies the tariff of 430 lei, the City Hall’s debts to Termocom SA will be by 73 mln lei lower, Valentina Vazdautan said. Mihai Arusoi, commercial director of Termocom SA, said that the heating charge should be calculated taking into account the company’s expenditure for all the year and not only for the first five months as the General Finance Division did. He says that the costs of supplying heat during the first five months of 2007 will not be relevant because the expenses of Termocom are much higher during the summer months, when the pipes must be repaired and prepared for the next heating season. Representatives of the local administration and of Termocom SA will come together for a meeting by the end of this day to discuss the situation and take a final decision. According to the CMC decision of January 25, when the increase in the heating charge to 540 lei was approved, the difference of 307 lei in the new and old charges for the population is covered from the municipal budget. To date, according to the calculations of Termocom, the City Hall owes over 150 mln lei for paying compensations for heating. A sum of 50 mln lei was paid by an order of the mayor general. Termocom, which sued the City Hall until it paid the first installment, intends to recover the money through court.