Perm antitrust unit launches case against T Plus over tariff growth

MOSCOW, Dec 1 (PRIME) -- The Perm directorate of the Federal Antimonopoly Service has launched an antimonopoly case against power utility T Plus over abuse of a dominating position in the form of a heating power tariff rise, the directorate said in a statement on Friday.

“A one-time increase of the tariff for heating power of T Plus in the Kirov district amounted to 56.61%, with the price growing to 1,678.63 rubles per gigacalorie from 1,071.83 rubles. The check of the situation showed that the growth of tariff was based on inclusion of the cost of transportation of heating power through an artificially created mediator T Plus Novye Resheniya,” the statement read.

The service concluded that the only goal of creation of the company was to receive economic benefit through an illegal inclusion of artificially created costs into the tariff.

T Plus was baffled by the decision, saying that the new company was “a full-fledged transport organization that transports heating from the Perm TETs-14 thermal and heating power plant to consumers of the Kirov District of Perm. The company comprises 60 central heat distribution stations and more than 300 kilometers of main and local heating pipes, and qualified personnel services them,” the company said in a statement.

“It is only logical to suppose that if the existence of this company was a pure formality, citizens of Zakamsk would not have received heating power for at least three previous years,” the company said.

(58.5814 rubles – U.S. $1)

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