The new joint inspection campaign between the Energy Authority and the Guardia di Finanza begins to verify the correct application of the 2012-2015 water tariffs by the service operators. Among the main objectives, the control of the accuracy of the amounts charged in the bill, compliance with the transparency obligations of the invoices, the adequacy of the data transmitted for the definition of the tariffs, the implementation status of the planned investments.
The new audit program concerns ten managers distributed throughout the country and continues the activity already carried out in 2014 on ten other companies (including five large ones with more than 100 users) which led to the verification of various irregularities , even of the order of tens of millions of euro, and which at the end of the proceedings initiated could lead to a reduction in the tariff applied and to sanctions.
In detail, with resolution 432/2015/E/idr four checks are launched to examine the costs and revenues declared by the operators to define the tariffs, the correctness of the amounts charged in the bill and compliance with the transparency obligations.
Furthermore - communicates the Authority - the adequacy of the amounts requested as a guarantee deposit and the state of implementation of the planned investments will be analysed, but checks will also be carried out at the realities involved in the process of launching the single management of the service (expected by the 'Sblocca Italia' decree), verifying the delivery status of the plants to the sole manager of the area and compliance with the established deadlines.
With resolution 433/2015/E/idr, six further inspections were then established for some of the operators, including the Municipalities, which, not having complied with all the data transmission obligations for the definition of the tariff (or which fall within the cases for to which tariff updating is excluded) the Authority has seen a 10% tariff reduction or a ban on increasing the applied tariffs applied by the Authority.
