Tallinn Administrative Court has suspended the fulfilment of the Competition Authority’s prescription until the Court delivers a final judgement regarding both tariff complaints
In response to the Competition Authority’s prescription of 10 October 2011 which instructed the Company to submit a tariff application for reducing its current tariffs by 29% by 14 November 2011 at the latest. On 9 November 2011 the company submitted to the Tallinn Administrative Court an application for an injunction, asking the court to suspend the validity of the prescription until the Court delivers a judgment regarding the associated complaint contesting the prescription.
On 06 February the Tallinn Administrative Court informed the Company that it had agreed to the Company’s request for an interim injunction and is suspending the fulfilment of the Competition Authority’s prescription until the Court delivers a final judgement. The court also joined both, the current 2010 tariffs and the 2011 tariff application cases, so the prescription is suspended until both complaints are resolved.
This means that tariffs for all customer categories will be maintained at current levels until the courts have made their final judgement. No court dates have been yet set to start proceedings to review the complaint. The Company will keep all investors informed of new developments as they become available.
The Company appreciates the court’s choice to not take any preliminary positions regarding the tariffs before they have made their final decision and allow due legal process to take its course. We will be waiting for the court to consequently start weighing each party’s evidence and make an informed decision based upon the privatisation contract as whole.
The Company considers the situation where it has to defend itself in court against the Estonian authorities solely for fulfilling the terms and conditions of the privatisation contract as laid down by the Estonian authorities themselves to be surprising. The Company has continuously stated its belief in fully transparent regulation and its willingness to enter into meaningful and evidence based dialogue that takes into account the privatization contract signed in 2001. However to date the Competition Authority has flatly refused to analyse the economic and operational performance of the company since 2001, making any such discussions impossible.
The Company would also like to take this opportunity to inform its customers that ASTV remains committed to delivering the same excellent levels of water and wastewater services that are required by the privatisation agreements and to which they have become accustomed in the past eleven years. Mariliis Topp
AS Tallinna Vesi
Head of Communications
62 62 275
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