Azernews.Az

Consumers in Azerbaijan are growing increasingly concerned over what they believe is their being overcharged by utilities.
Citizens often claim the government demands exorbitant funds from them for use of electricity, water and gas. In particular, they say the state is seeking to collect consumer debts that accumulated three to four years prior to the widespread installation of meters.
Employees of utility companies reportedly walk door to door and tell citizens they owe hefty amounts of money for past utility bills. However, newly conducted research paints a different picture. For instance, before meters were installed the bulk of water used in households averaged six cubic meters per person each month. This electricity cost 1 manats and 32 Gapiks ($1.60 at the current exchange rate), and citizens were, regardless, required to pay the amount. However, following the installation of residential water meters, consumers have been found to be using many times less water than previously billed for.
The same situation has been found with payments made for gas. According to Azerigas, the state-owned gas supplier, 1.5 billion cubic meters of gas have been supplied to the population in the past eight months, which is considerably below the volume used before meters were installed. This data has resulted in many to conclude that the Azerigas documents cited figures apparently exceeding public demand for gas. For example, previously it was stated that each household required 120 cu. m., but after the meters were installed, the figure being billed is for less than 100 cu. m. per household.
Gubad Ibadoglu, an economics expert, said that considering these calculations, the long-standing debt appears to be blown out of proportion.
"These virtual arrears exceed actual debt not just twice, but five to six times. People should defend their due rights," he said.
Although, at times, consumers are provided with concessions by writing off part of outstanding arrears, employees of joint-stock companies operating in the utilities sector often say these figures have been posted in the computer and, therefore, cannot be erased.
Some experts say employees of utility companies post made-up figures in their computer system and further take advantage of a generally poor awareness by citizens to enlarge the debt owed. They also say debt cannot remain outstanding for more than three years. For instance, if a citizen receives bills dating back to 1998, he should take the matter to court.
However, various state agencies say these utility fees are charged fairly. Azerenergy, the state-owned power producer, says citizens must pay the entire past due debt for electricity and any concessions on the payment or writing off of this debt would be unlawful.
Tofig Allahverdiyev, a department head at Azerigas, argued it is wrong to compare previous charges with today`s figures charged by installed meters.
"In the absence of meters, some were consuming more gas than the established norm, while others - less, and this indicator is relative. Naturally, consumption of gas went down with the installation of meters because people track down their spending," Allahverdiyev said.