Enel OGK-5’s Sredneuralsk Power Station will stop supplying hot water to Yekaterinburg because OOO STK still has not started paying off its debts.

‘Under the agreement with Sverdlovsk Region Energy Ministry, Enel OGK-5’s Sredneuralsk Power Station resumed hot water supply to OOO STK under the condition that the latter would pay off 50% of its debt to Enel OGK-5 for the years 2011-2012 by August 7. No payments were made to Enel OGK-5 on August 1-8 inclusively. As STK failed to meet the terms of the agreements, Sredneuralsk Power Station was forced to set some limits on its hot water supply to STK. Even though Enel OGK-5 is still suffering losses, it was decided to decrease the supply by 50% and not to stop it altogether. Enel OGK-5 keeps negotiating in order to come to a solution as soon as possible. This limitation is not going to affect other hot water consumers of the station,’ the press service of Enel OGK-5 reports.

‘OOO STK owes a lot of money to Enel OGK-5: the company has never received the better part of the payments for 2011 and nearly all the payments for 2012, even though Sredneuralsk Power Station kept supplying the heating. On August 9, the Arbitration & Appeals Court’s decision to make STK pay the debts for May-December 2011 came into effect, and the case regarding the payments for 2012 is expected to be heard soon,’ the company reports.

In the meantime, a number of Yekaterinburg districts had not hot water for about a month. Enel OGK-5 said earlier that this had to do with repairs at Sredneuralsk Power Station, but admitted later that it was because of STK’s debts. At the moment, the hot water supply in Yekaterinburg is stable.