CORRECTION:Tallinn District Court has upheld the suspension of the fulfilment of the Competition Authority’s prescription until the Court delivers a final judgement regarding both tariff complaintsThe changes have been made in the title and introductory first paragraph.
On 17 February 2012, the Competition Authority appealed the Tallinn Administrative Court’s 6 February ruling that suspended the Competition Authority’s prescription to the Tallinn District Court. On 27 February AS Tallinna Vesi responded to the District Court presenting detailed evidence to support its position. On 2 March the Tallinn District Court made its final ruling and upheld the decision of the Tallinn Administrative Court to suspend the fulfilment of the Competition Authority’s 10 October, 2011 prescription until the Court delivers a final judgement on both, the current (2010) tariffs and the 2011 tariff application cases. The ruling of the Tallinn District Court cannot be appealed any further (to the Supreme Court) and due legal process must now take its course.
The ruling of the Tallinn Distict Court means that AS Tallinna Vesi’s tariffs (as at 2010 level) for all customer categories will be maintained at current levels until the court of the last instance has made its final judgement. No court dates have been set yet for hearings to review AS Tallinna Vesi’s complaints. The Company will keep all investors and customers informed of new developments as they become available. The Company would also like to take this opportunity to assure its customers that AS Tallinna Vesi 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.
The CEO of AS Tallinna Vesi, Ian Plenderleith said the Company appreciates the decision of both Courts not to take any preliminary positions regarding the tariffs before they have made their final decision. “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, “ added Plenderleith.
The Company would like to reiterate that it 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 remarkable. 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.
On 10 October 2011 the Competition Authority 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 suspended the fulfilment of the Competition Authority’s prescription until the Court delivers a final judgement on both the current tariffs and the 2011 tariff application. - On 06 February the Court joined both the current (2010) tariffs case and the case regarding the rejection of AS Tallinna Vesi’s 2011 tariff application. Thus, the prescirption has been halted until both disputes have beenresolved. Mariliis Topp
AS Tallinna Vesi
Head of Communicatons
62 62 275
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