OREANDA-NEWS. February 29, 2012. On February 15th, 2012 Tallinn Administrative Court approved AS Tallinna Vesi's application to make the tariff's court proceedings public.

Utility companies that in most cases are natural monopolies, should be totally transparent in their dealings with their customers and shareholders. According to the chairman of the board of AS Tallinna Vesi, Ian Plenderleith, transparency and open communication enable the public to understand what they will be receiving for the tariff being charged. Public proceeding ensures that all key principles relating to tariff setting are made available to the public, he added.

According to Plenderleith the key principles in the water sector are the establishment and publication of quality standards to be achieved, the measurement and audit of these standards, and finally the calculation of the justified costs and profits required to achieve these standards.

AS Tallinna Vesi has submitted two court proceedings against the Competition Authority in Tallinn Administrative Court. Firstly, to contest the Competition Authority's 2.05.2011 decision regarding the non-approval of the 2011 tariff application, and secondly the 10.10.2011 prescription ordering AS Tallinna Vesi to decrease its current tariffs by 1/3. On 6.02.2012 the Court joined the two proceedings. The Court has not yet decided on the hearings or the dates.