Zenica could be left without heating due to illegal connection and millions in electricity debt

(Patria) - Nova Željezara Zenica (NŽZ), through lawyer Suad Slipčević, sent a new notice about the planned disconnection of the illegal connection of the Public Company "Grijanje" Zenica to the company's electrical network, which is scheduled to occur on February 6th.

Ultimately, this would mean the cessation of heating for the city from the new gas-fired Heating Plant, a joint venture between NŽZ (80 percent) and the City of Zenica (20 percent), which was supposed to happen yesterday according to the previous plan. They state that they abandoned this to avoid citizens suffering the consequences.

NŽZ, a company established last year by the purchase of ArcelorMittal Zenica, warns again in yesterday's letter that they have suffered direct financial damage amounting to KM 2,268,746 over the past three years through "the disputed and illegal connection in the old Thermal Power Plant facility".

They point out that the electricity for the operation of the "Grijanje" Public Company's system is taken from the NŽZ network, but without a legal basis and a signed contractual obligation, so they have no obligation to supply "Grijanje" with electricity.

The "Grijanje" Public Company, which only distributes heat to the citizens of Zenica, has allegedly been illegally connected to their electrical network for years, for which they do not have the necessary permits or an installed measuring point, i.e., an electricity consumption meter.

They note that all of this has been repeatedly documented through inspection supervision, letters, and warnings sent to them since 2018.

They emphasize that "Grijanje" Public Company has been repeatedly asked to obtain the necessary permits from Elektrodistribucija, install a meter, and regulate its supply in accordance with the law, but this has never been done, and the last warning was sent to them on January 23rd of this year.

A meeting of representatives of NŽZ, "Grijanje" Public Company, and the City of Zenica, which they state was supposed to be held on January 29th, did not take place due to the absence of Mayor Fuad Kasumović, although his attendance was confirmed, according to them.

NŽZ has scheduled a new date for a meeting of the same stakeholders for February 2nd or 3rd, when a solution to this problem should be found.

In addition to the accompanying documentation and inspection findings, the notice was sent to the Mayor of Zenica, the City Council, the Federal Administration for Inspection Affairs, the State Investigation and Protection Agency (SIPA), the prosecutor's offices of ZDK and FBiH, the ministries of internal affairs of ZDK and FBiH, and the company Toplana d.o.o., in addition to the address of "Grijanje" Public Company Zenica.

All recipients of this notice are invited to, within their jurisdictions and without delay, influence the Management of the "Grijanje" Public Company and the Mayor, "given that they have been avoiding resolving the issue for years", to take other appropriate measures within their competence to mitigate the damages.

The notice also emphasizes that it is very concerning that "Grijanje" Public Company and the City of Zenica directly linked the increase in heating prices for Zenica residents, approved last year, to the increase in electricity prices, "even though you were aware that you were partly illegally drawing electricity from the Željezara network".