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Akhema Group, a New Owner of Kakheti Energy Distribution Company Continues Extorting Money from Consumers

February 3, 2009

Lithuanian company Akhema Group, a new owner of Kakheti Energy Distribution continues to tradition of the distribution company and charges the consumers with extra money.

The subscribers from various districts of Kakheti region informed the Human Rights Center that Kakheti Energy Distribution Company does not give them any information on the amount of consumed electricity for one month now. This has been so since Lithuanian company bought the distribution company. The consumers have not received information about their arrears and the extra charges that are calculated according to communal meter. The subscribers said that if they have the bill of let’s say 20 GEL based on individual meter data per month, they are forced to pay 30, 40 and even 50GEL based on the data from a communal meter. There are communal as well as individual meters in regions of Georgia. Individual meters are for single families while communal meters for the whole street. The figure from a communal meter is divided on families that are attached to this meter and the bill is calculated based on the combination of individual and communal meters. Therefore, people are forced to pay more money than they actually should pay.  People say that the energy distribution company cuts off electricity to the consumers that do not pay the bill and also demands additional sums for restoration of energy supply. Sighnaghi, Dedoplistskaro and Gurjaani are particularly problematic in this regard.

Subscribers have addressed Malkhaz Dzidzikashvili, Energy defender for several times, but with no success.

According to Akhema Group the receipts are not distributed in any of districts of Kakheti region except for Telavi district. Correspondingly, the subscribers of these districts and villages pay the electricity bill in People’s Bank. “People’s Bank gives only a document that shows that a person has paid a bill. There is no indication on the amount of consumed kilowatts. Though there is a special registry that gives detailed information of this kind. The document issued by the bank has its particular form and number. The document is granted by a particular department of the Ministry of Finance. If anyone is interested in detailed information, he can apply and he will receive information without any problems. As for paying a fine for restoration of cut off electricity, we have never demanded such thing from subscribers”, we were told by the Public Relations Department of Akhema Group.


Gela Mtivlishvili, Kakheti

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