Minskers used same quantity of water in October as before, but paid more
"This is how we planned it", says Minsk water services company, while the housing and maintenance services have to deal with complaints.
Limitations for water use have been introduced in Belarus since last month - 140 liters a day. Each extra liter should be paid on the cost recovery basis.
Such tariffs cover only 4,2 cubic meters of water a month per person. We pay 890 roubles for one cubic meter, and if we calculate the cost recovery basis it will make 2 546 roubles.
Minsk water services company: "Yes,
people paid more this month. Someone paid under increased tariffs. We planned
this initially in Minsk, did some preliminary calculations. Water consumption
was less in average in Belarus, while in Minsk it was about 5,2 cubic meters
per person. So, we planned that there would be more people who would pay for
excess water consumption in Minsk".
However, Minskers used the same quantity of water as before, Minsk water
services company claims. The people have not yet realized what happened and
they come to housing and maintenance services stations to complain.
Housing and maintenance
services station No. 20, Minsk: "Many people come to find out
why there is another line in their receipts, which states that they need to
overpay. Mostly pensioners come. Naturally, prices grew and salaries did not.
People don't have enough money".
Not only pensioners complain about increased prices for water. Euroradio's
listener Dzyanis is supposed to pay the rent of Br 135 thousand for a one-room
apartment (!).
Dzyanis: "The receipt showed unexpectedly
big sums, I am going to figure out what's happening. As when they ask 170 thousand
roubles for a 4-rooms apartment, then 135 thousand for a 1-room apartment is a
sort of too much".
Payment for central heating has made the majority of the sum, says Dzyanis. And
this is for just two weeks. Nothing is clear with water as well…
Dzyanis: "They've calculated it twice".
Euroradio: "Maybe this is because of the
140-liters limit?"
Dzyanis: "It's impossible, I
don't use 140 liters! I don't do anything special, like washing
elephants".
Another Euroradio's listener, Victar, paid 30 thousand roubles more for water
in October! "I paid for the water which I
did not use", says Victar.
Victar: "They
calculated 26 cubic meters for the three of us, 13 - under the ordinary tariff,
and 13 - on cost recovery basis, as they call it. It turned out we have to pay
30 thousand more! This is a serious sum. This means that we allegedly used
twice more water than before, in accordance with these norms".
Victar did not use so much water, he simply failed to provide the numbers for
this month and the communal services workers calculated the new sum basing on
the bigger numbers, which he informed the month before.
Victar: "When
I checked my water-counter I realized I overpaid a lot. They would probably
return this money to me next month, but I have already paid for that. Moreover,
I'm afraid that they will return money under normal tariff, not the cost
recovery basis".
Representatives of the accounting department of one of the housing and
maintenance services station in Minsk assure that they will return the whole
sum.
Housing and maintenance
services station: "We'll
calculate it once again, and return everything that we have taken".
They might introduce normatives for electricity or gas in the near future... Euroradio
is watching the topic.