Yesterday, on 28th February, AS Tallinna Vesi submitted its application for the approval of the new water tariffs to the Competition Authority. According to the Public Water Supply and Sewerage Act the Competition Authority has 30 days to review the application which the authority may extend to up to 90 days.
For AS Tallinna Vesi it is the first tariff application for the cities of Tallinn and Saue, which has not been submitted based on the methodology stipulated within the Services Agreement agreed with the City of Tallinn, but instead based on the Competition Authority’s recommendatory methodology which differs significantly from the previous methodology. Consequently, the Company is of the opinion that there are several key points in the tariff application that require further discussions with the Competition Authority, and the Company is planning to meet with the Authority’s representatives in the near future.
The tariffs calculated in the Company’s tariff application submitted yesterday are close to the currently applicable water tariffs, which have remained unchanged since 2010.
The obligation to submit the tariff application to the Competition Authority arises from the 12th December 2017 Supreme Court decision. The Court concluded that the Competition Authority is not bound by the tariff agreement contained in the Services Agreement, which had been signed between the water undertaking and the City of Tallinn upon privatisation, and AS Tallinna Vesi has to comply with the Competition Authority’s precept to submit a new tariff application.