OREANDA-NEWS. On 5 February 2008 was announced, that at the end of the week the citizens of the city of Vladivostok got the envelopes with the receipts for the first quarter of 2008. Dalenergosbyt has switched to this form of work since January. From this time forward the subscribers will receive the receipts not monthly but four times per year. The charges will be made by each personal account, on the basis of the previously fixed average consumption.

The principle novation in this form of payment is that a consumer can choose himself the most convenient system of payment. He could pay all three received receipts at once or pay them one by one every month. Besides that the energy company will grant to its subscribers the right to take a reading of their meters, to write it down to the receipts and to pay for the actually consumed kilowatt per hours.

We would like to bring to your notice the answers to the key questions, asked at the press conference of the Director for Realization, Dalenergosbyt Yuri Ignatov.

Opening speech of the Director for Realization Yuri Ignatov:

As far as you know in January 2008 Dalenergosbyt started to issue the receipts in a package in the territory of Primorsky region. The issue of the receipts in a package assumes that each consumer will get the receipts once per quarter. It means that in January a consumer will get a package of three receipts for January, February and March. There is also information letter of Dalenergosbyt, information letter of the Director General and the gift calendar with the logo of JSC FEEC besides the receipts in the package.

In each receipt, that goes to the package, the consumed electricity is already calculated, and indicated both in kilowatt per hour and in rubles with the account of the benefits that a citizen has. The quantity of kilowatt per hours , noted in the receipt, is defined in compliance with the daily average electricity consumption by the specific personal account. Besides that there are empty boxes in the receipts, heavily underlined, that a consumer can fill out himself.

Also it worth to be noted that since January 2008 in the territory of Primorsky region the Primorsky region Administration has introduced the new tariffs, that stipulate the payment with the account of the social norm, that shall be calculated in accordance with the resolution of the Primorsky region Administration, and the examples of this norm rating are also presented. We hope that this information letter will allow a consumer to orientate himself in this package of documents. If the questions still remain, there is a number of the information call line in this letter. There are also the telephones of the territorial division or the reception points in the first receipt of the package for January. The numbers of the mobile phones of the energy sales company’s agents are also indicated in the receipt, and any citizen can dial them to consult about any question.

As far as switching to receipts issue in a package, it’s carried out in compliance with the campaign directed at the improvement of the consumers service level. We think that such form will decrease the number of the citizens’ complains, will allow to the Company to work more intently, with each individual and thus will make our relations more trustful.

In the first receipt of the quarter a citizen can see the date of taking readings from a meter that was a basis of the package calculation, and the meter’ reading itself. Under issuing of the receipts in a package the readings of a meter will be taken once per a quarter. That is why in the following receipts of the first quarter - February and March - the readings of the meter are not indicated. In March when the reading will be taken by the results of a quarter, the correcting recalculation for the quarter will be made with the account of the actual charge, in the event of deviation from the planned charges. But we did out best to make these diviations to be minimum.

If a citizen does not agree with the consumption in kilowatt per hour that was indicated in the planned charge, he can himself write down the meters reading. It should be noted that calculated period for today is one calendar month. That is why the reading shall be taken from the date maximum close to the end of a month, ideal variant in January - is 31 of January. The difference between the starting and ending index – is the electricity consumption that shall be written down in a specific box. Further on this consumption will by multiply by the tariff and we get electricity consumption in rubles.

As there are differential tariffs in the territory of Primorsky region, under the independent filling out the boxes a consumer shall compare the actual consumption with the social norm. It was defined on the assumption of the number of people registered in an apartment and a number of the rooms. There is such a table in the information letter. If a citizen has a right for the social benefits, that will be also indicated in a receipt.

Vladimir Kovalchuk , television company PTR

- Let us say, five people have been registered in an apartment, but only one actually lives in it. It means that he gets a receipt in accordance with which he has to pay one thousand of rubles, but in fact he consumes electricity for 300 rubles. He will pay one thousand, and then his overpay will be taken into account and these seven hundred rubles he won’t pay for a certain period of time, will he? How is this social norm calculated?

Yuri Ignatov, Director For Realization, Dalenergosbyt:

- In this very case the social norm of a citizen will be maximally high. The more people live and the more rooms are in an apartment, the higher social norm.

The form 17, that can be taken in the Passport Office, will be the foundation for making alteration in the data base. The number of the rooms can be written in this form. We are aimed at minimization of any mistakes and we are ready to work with any individual who has any misreading in the receipt.

Vladimir Kovalchuk , television company PTR

- That is to say, in point of fact , after first half year of this system work, everything will be reduced to that how much a person pays in average, such receipts he will get, is that right? Without resting on a social norm? For example five people are registered in my apartment, and I consume……

Yuri Ignatov, Director For Realization, Dalenergosbyt:

- I see. I want us to distinguish these two meanings, as these are two different notions. Social norm is a certain estimated rate, on the basis of the number of registered people and number of rooms. And actual electric power consumption by a meter – is a different notion. Some person economies, another lives at a high rate. That is why it’s impossible to forecast the actual consumption of a certain social norm. It’s possible that a citizen always consumes such volume that he will never surpass the social norm. It’s quite a possible variant. But the opposite is possible too.

Nadezhda Brazhina, newspaper Vladivostok

- And if nobody is registered? This situation is widely spread. Does it mean that this case is out of calculations?

Yuri Ignatov, Director For Realization, Dalenergosbyt:

- If you look at the table given in the Resolution of the Administration, you will see that “ the null of registered” is not indicated there. The reference quantity is one registered. In this case we consider that an apartment belongs to someone. It means that the owner can be counted as one unit.

Inna Fedortcseva , agency Vl.ru

- Will such system allow to reduce the debt of the population for the consumed electricity? And also in the press release I have found out such a phrase –“The agents of Dalenergosbyt will check the meter readings at the end of a quarter ”. And if under independent filling out the receipts the consumers make mistake or deliberately pull down the figures – what to do in this case?

Yuri Ignatov, Director For Realization, Dalenergosbyt:

-The switch to the new standard of servicing has an aim of more concentrated work with each citizen. And first of all with evaders. We expect from that positive effect, and also from the point of view of debtor indebtedness of the population. As far as the second question – at the end of the quarter there will be the control reading taking by our representatives. The calculation will be done with the account of the readings taken at the beginning and at the end of a quarter. That is why if someone has deliberately pulled down the figures, he will only lose, as his debtor indebtedness for the first quarter will be indicated in the receipt for April. I also would like to note that an individual can pay all the receipts at once or per month. And he shall not pay at the end of a quarter. And we would not recommend to the citizens to accumulate debtor indebtedness, as further on it will be more and more difficult to pay it.

Nadezhda Brazhina, newspaper Vladivostok

-To what extent has the tariff grown in January? And one more: as far as I understand the technique has been introduced not by you. But still the philosophy of the question: what’s for has the social norm been implemented?

Yuri Ignatov, Director For Realization, Dalenergosbyt:

- The tariff has grown in average by 13 per cent. And philosophy is in following. There is a minimum market basket of consumer goods. I suppose that the social norm is also the market basket of consumer goods of a citizen of Primorsky region. That is what he shall get at the minimum price. Though such a tariff exists in the framework of the acting legislation. And we as well as consumers are governed by the regulation of the Tariff Department of Primorsky region Administration. It means that we are in one boat.

As there are no more questions about the issue the receipts in a package, lets proceed to the topic of evaders.

For the present day the indebtedness of the population of Primorsky region surpasses 270 million of rubles. And off course we work out, administer and will administer the evaders. First of all that is filling of application to the court. Last year we submitted more than 25 thousand actions and got positive judicial decisions about collection of more than 40 million rubles. Second that is work with the bailiffs with the aim of indebtedness enforcement, arrest of property, obstruction of leaving abroad of the citizens. Also we will cut off the electricity for a certain period of time. Those citizens who do not pay off their indebtedness will have additional expenditures in the form of payment of the state duty in the event of the positive judicial decision or execution fee, or the services of restoration of electricity supply. And as far as the enforcements concerns I would like to add that this year we are going to work out the question of cooperation with the banks with the aim to obstruct the consumer -loan granting to the evaders.

As far as legal bodies concerns, the means of enforcement are almost the same. And also the initialization of the bankruptcy proceedings of an evader. I would like to define the circle of the problematic consumers. First of all that is enterprises- electricity resellers, housing utilities enterprises and water treatment plants. Among the electricity resellers the most fraudulent evader is JSC “Kommunalnaya energetica” (town of Bolshoi Kamen ). The indebtedness of this enterprise for today is more than 50 million of rubles. There are almost no voluntary payments from it. And exactly in Shkotovsky region, after the snowfall in November, the accident management took the maximum of time, as the money from the consumers is collected, but the payments for the purchased electricity and necessary repair works could not be worth. As far as water treatment plants concerns, I would like to give as negative examples the water treatment plant of the town of Nakhodka, VSK-Shkotovo, watersupplying enterprises in the territory of the village Yaroslavka –Yarvodsnab. That is, these enterprises including Energy Utilities enterprises widely use the meaning of the utility importance of their work, and consider it to be a kind of a reason for non-payments. From our point of view that is absolutely wrong.