11 November 2015, 10:12
At a meeting of the Committee on November 4, it was underlined that the draft law No. 2706 is aimed at settling the debt entities engaged in production, transportation, and supply of heat energy for the needs of the population and provision of the population with services of centralized water supply and water disposal owe energy supplying organizations (as at January 1, 2015 the amount of fines and interest penalties accrued by Naftogaz of Ukraine national joint-stock company was UAH 1.6 billion), and at providing conditions for raising the level of current payments for consumed natural gas and electric energy and creating conditions for improving their financial and economic performance.
The draft law foresees imposing a moratorium on charging and collecting penalty (fine, interest penalty), and other financial sanctions by energy supplying companies in case of late payment for consumed natural gas and gas transportation services and electric energy from entities for which the tariff for heat energy and services of centralized water supply and water disposal was set below the prime cost taking into account marginal profitability and not covered in full losses resulting from approval of such tariffs, and uncovered losses resulting from granting of privileges in payment for the consumed heat energy to certain categories of consumers, until they receive compensation for losses in due order.
Following the discussion, the Committee members supported the draft law and offer to supplement it by the following provisions:
To extended till July 1, 2016 the possibility to carry out debt restructuring for heat generating and/or heat supplying organizations for consumed natural gas, which was formed from January 1, 2014 to December 31, 2014, in case such organizations have no debts for consumed gas as at January 1, 2014 pursuant to the framework agreement approved by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine;
To set that the debt, which was formed as at July 1, 2015, the accrued penalty (fine, interest fine), other fines, financial sanctions, and the inflation rate and 3% annually are considered extinguished and not subject to further write-offs, in case heat generating and/or heat supplying organizations have no gas debts as at January 1, 2014;
During the moratorium, electric energy supplying companies undertake not to charge and collect penalty (fine, interest penalty), other fines, financial sanctions, and the inflation rate and 3% annually in the volume limited by the moratorium on payment for consumed electric energy by the entities defined in Article 1 of the bill;
To set that till July 1, 2016 court enforcement action is subject to mandatory termination in case of collecting from heat generating and/or heat supplying organizations of debt for the consumed natural gas in the periods as at January 1, 2014 and from January 1, 2014 to July 1, 2015.
To settle the issue of writing-off to entities which provide the population with services of centralized cold water supply and central water disposal of penalty (fine, interest penalty), other fines, financial sanctions, and the inflation rate and 3% annually, accrued on the debt for electric energy resulting from not compensated in full at the expense of state budget subventions difference between the approved prices/tariff rates and the economically feasible expenditures on the production of services, or in the case were not financed from the state budget expenditures connected with granting of privileges and housing allowances to the population, compensations of extra expenditures on payment for utility services amidst soaring prices and tariff rates for the services.