AS Tallinna Vesi is concerned about the approach of government institutions to governance principles in the implementation of water sector regulation from November 1st. On 22nd October the Ministry of Economy issued its draft decree to establish the basis, which the Competition Authority needs to rely on, should it decide to use the right given to it in the Public Water and Sewerage Services Act and establish a temporary water price for a water undertaking. AS Tallinna Vesi has submitted over 8 pages of regulatory principles, comments and questions to the Competition Authority in response to their draft methodology, however to date the Competition Authority has not included any of the amendments raised by the Company nor has it responded to the points and questions. „A high quality regulatory system is best implemented with the full and active involvement of all industry participants - water companies, municipalities, ministries and customers,“ said AS Tallinna Vesi CEO Ian Plenderleith, adding that a prerequisite of any good regulatory regime is ensuring that due process is followed and time is given for discussion and analysis. The Company is concerned about the lack of respect for due process, the absence of independent verification of methods and decision-making when analysing tariffs and issuing notices and setting temporary tariffs and the ability of government agencies to make random decisions without having the obligation to explain their decisions to those impacted by those decisions. „It seems that the the government insitutions involved in drafting the regulation have never intended to engage in any dialogue and are task-oriented to forcefully establish a pre-determined methodology by November 1st,“ noted Plenderleith. AS Tallinna Vesi is interested in protecting the long-term interests of the water industry and expects a price setting regime to be based on sound independently verified economic principles. Thus the Company recommends that the implementation of the Decree is delayed until all material points raised by the industry have been discussed and answered. “It is a known fact that good government policy welcomes challenge especially if this would lead to a higher quality methodology, which we believe is what the Ministry is aiming to achieve,” said Plenderleith. Furthermore, the Company believes this will reduce the likelihood of a methodology being implemented for short term political advantage. AS Tallinna Vesi and its investors have repeatedly stated their willingness to work within a regulatory regime that uses best practice internationally accepted regulatory principles. “It is for this reason we have made a number of positive suggestions throughout our correspondence with various authorities,” added Plenderleith. “We look forward to fully open dialogue with all institutions to help implement a methodology that deliver sustainable benefits to our customers and the environment,” stressed Plenderleith. However, should a regime be implemented for short term political gain and without any form of professional consultation or dialogue, then AS Tallinna Vesi and its investors will take all necessary steps to ensure their rights as investors are not violated, especially as to date the Company has always met all the contractual obligations it signed up to on privatisation in 2001. Priit Koff Head of Public Relations AS Tallinna Vesi +372 6262 209 priit.koff@tvesi.ee
AS Tallinna Vesi is concerned about the lack of cooperation in regulation implementation
| Source: Tallinna Vesi