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Subscribers against Energo-Pro Georgia

June 5, 2008

Who Will Pay 18 000 GEL?

Nana Pazhava, Zugdidi

Residents of the village of Akhalabastumani in Zugdidi district are protesting in front of the District Administration building time-to-time. They are demanding to be supplied with electricity. Nearly 150 subscribers have been living without light for ten days already. According to the report drawn up by the Western Georgia’s Supervision Service Department of the Energo-Pro Georgia the debt of the people has amounted to 18, 000 GEL. The subscribers do not intend to pay the debt. They plan to take their concerns to the court against the company.

On June 3 people gathered in front of the Zugdidi municipality building and requested the local authority to annul the debt; more precisely they requested the authority to mediate between electricity customers and Energo-Pro Georgia. However, Tengiz Shanava, district deputy governor, could not make any promises and advised them to negotiate directly with the Czech investors who were the direct owners of the company. On May 4 nearly 200 subscribers gathered in front of the Samgrelo-Zemo Svaneti Regional Administration building and made the same request.

Demonstrators claimed they learned about the debt after the company and it started cutting the wires and their supply of electricity supply. The subscribers had information that electro-transformer for 150 families had  not been properly working and had to be replaced with a new one back on January 23.

     

Ketevan Tabaghua, subscriber: “They remembered about the debt only after five months had passed. We had thought the information about a damaged transformer was only rumors floating around. Apparently, they replaced the old one on January 23 and drew up the test report on February 15. Subscribers did not attend the test because nobody was informed about it. The report was illegally drawn up. If we had individual meters we would not have faced such a problem.”

The residents of the darkened village tried to find out the reasons for the delay with Gela Kupatadze, the director of the Western Georgia’s Regional Office of the Energo-Pro Georgia.

Nugzar Todua, subscriber: “I personally met Kupatadze in Senaki. We inquired why they had been suddenly charged us with such a large sum. They say only one wire was burnt in the transformer but nobody had showed it to us. They have written in the report that the transformer was damaged. If it is true, the communal meter could not show larger figure than we have spent. Kupatadze replied I was right; but the report was drawn up and we had to pay the sum that is mentioned in the report. Is it fair? Can a simple peasant have justice in the country?!”

Gela Kupatadze categorically denies his meeting with subscribers. He said he had conversed about the problem with Aleksandre Kobalia, the district governor. However, he does not mention the details of their conversation. Residents of Akhalabastumani now accuse Energo-Pro Georgia of serious violations.

Fridon Korsantia, subscriber: “Representatives of the company have not appeared since January 23 and they did not check the meters. Why do they receive their salaries? They lack money because people received vouchers for electricity and the government did not pay.  They have not done anything here; we repaired everything; we changed wires and transformers with our own expenses; we paid 1, 000 GEL when they replaced transformer and 800 GEL for the oil. Initially, we paid 8 000 GEL for a new transformer. Where have they done with all that money?! If their meter did not work, our individual meters were working.”

Representatives of the Energo-Pro Georgia confirm that mini electro-station Vektor # 35 in the village of Akhalabastumani had incorrectly registered the utilized electricity.

Gela Kupatadze: “Regional Supervision Service Department examined the sub-station and drew up a report that was then sent to the central office. Based on the Resolution # 10 of the Central Electro Regulation Company, issued on December 31 2001, subscribers of the sub-station in Akhalabastumnani were charged with additional 138 00 kilowatt/hours that was assessed by the meter. Now the total sum for the unregistered electricity is 17, 912 GEL.

The board of the Zugdidi Service Center of the Energo-Pro Georgia offered subscribers to pay the bill over time with installments. If the parties would reach an agreement, subscribers should pay 20 GEL a month on average. However, locals do not accept the offer and categorically demand that the debt be discharged.  Now they claim that unless their demand is satisfied they will appeal to the court to make a decision in their favor.

Berdia Goglidze, manager of Zugdidi Service Center: “I have divided their debt equally in order to not charge them with the entire sum. We cannot do anything more. They refuse to accept our proposal and we shall we do?! Let them threaten us and appeal to the court; they have right to do it.”

Expression of intention or the law makes Energo Pro Georgia more responsible. One paragraph of the regulations of the electricity supply, which is published on the website of the company, states that the protocol of the counting of additional kilowatts and bills shall be supplied to a court of law.

However, it is unknown who will be defendant and who will be the petitioner before the court, as it is not sure who has actually violated the law-the company or the subscriber.


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