Telavi Inhabitants Accusing Wissol in Extortion

Gela Mtivlishvili, Kakheti

The Telavi inhabitants accuse Telavgas, gas distribution company owned by Wissol Petroleum Georgia, which is also a company involved with selling oil products, of engaging in extortion. Those from Telavi claim that Telavgas insists that they installed new gas meters for the cost 240 GEL instead of the gas meters they are currently using. These have already been inspected and certified by a corresponding laboratory as meeting standard.  If the Telavians do not follow the demand of the gas company they will face a gas cut off. After Wissol Petroleum Georgia bought Telavgas the price of gas installation in private houses quadrupled and now equals 700 GEL.

Elene Beruchashvili, an inhabitant Telavi told the Human Rights Center journalist that she has been the client of Telavgas since 2005. “The inhabitants of my district paid over 100 GEL back in 2005 when the district was first gasified and gas connected to private homes. We installed the new meters which were sanctioned by an inspection lab at the time. No one from Telavgas had demanded to change the meters till the spring of 2008. No one said we had to pay more then we had already spent. We have been experiencing  problems with Telavgas ever since it was brought by Wissol.

- To have representatives of Telavgas, a gas Distribution Company explain why we had to change the meters?

- They said that many of their clients which had installed meters before March, 2008 as they were using damaged meters. We then demanded that the meters be officially inspected. However, we found out that corresponding authorizes body does not exist in Telavi. When you have suspects about normal functioning of meters you must have serious grounds for the claim. Representatives of the gas company did not specify anything else. They only said that if we did not change the meters gas that the gas supply would be cut off to us.

- Did they say where you could buy the meters they considered normal?

- They have those meters had to pay 240 GEL for each one. They offered us the opportunity to purchase the meter by installment plan at local banks. They said we will have to pay only 10 GEL per month. The majority of Telavians accepted the gas company’s offer. However, those people who have neither work nor pension cannot take credit and buy the meters by installment, said Elene Beruchashvili.

The Telavians say if the Telavi gas distribution company does not stop their money extortion activities, they will hold protest in front of Wissol Petroleum Georgia office.

“The price for gas installment in houses depends on the person and this is done on an individual basis. The meters are changed only when corresponding body sanctions that the meter is somehow damaged. Our gas distribution company offers the clients the meters with 10 years of guarantee. The clients can take credits from Telavi branches of various banks and pay only 10 GEL per month to cover the cost. We consider that this is convenient mean of paying for the cost of the meter. The majority of Telavi inhabitants are now paying for the cost of the meter by bank installments, “as we were told in the Press Department of Wissol Petroleum Georgia.

The inhabitants of Marneuli district have recently started accusing the representatives of Marneulgas, gas distribution company in intimidation and forced installment of new meters. It is noteworthy that Wissol Petroleum Georgia owns Marneulgas as well.