The connection of a new consumer to the thermal grid is provided for in Section 3, paragraph 17-33 of the thermal energy supply Regulation, approved by ANRE Decision No 23 of 26.01.2017.
The connection request must contain:
The supplier is obliged to issue the connection notice within 15 calendar days from the date of registration of the request, indicating, obligatorily, the optimal technical-economic conditions of connection and the works to be performed by the applicant for connection of use installations of the thermal energy belonging to the thermal network. The connection notice is issued free of charge.
The connection approval shall be issued by the supplier in the following cases:
The applicant shall be required to obtain from the supplier the connection approval before starting the design of the heat use installations. The term of validity of the connection approval shall be determined by the supplier according to the construction term of the object, but shall not be less than 2 years. The term of validity of the connection approval shall be extended by the supplier if upon expiry of the validity period construction of the object for which the connection approval was issued has begun. The term of validity of the connection approval shall be extended by the supplier if upon expiry of the validity period construction of the object for which the connection approval was issued has begun. The supplier shall extend the validity of the connection approval within 15 calendar days of the date of the submission by making that inscription on the connection notice issued to the applicant. The connection approval may be extended for up to 5 years or for a longer period depending on the available capacity of the heat network.
The technical-economic conditions stipulated in the connection approval issued by the supplier shall be met by the applicant and the designer.
The design of the heat use installations, drawn up on the basis of the connection approval, shall be coordinated by the supplier within 15 calendar days of the submission of the project. If the supplier does not respond within 15 days from the date of submission of the project, the project shall be considered coordinated. The construction of the thermal energy installation and the connection installation shall be carried out by the supplier or by another authorized person, at the choice of the applicant.
The time limit for the supplier to complete the connection facility of the applicant, the prospective household consumer, shall not exceed 30 calendar days from the time the contract is signed for the connection and payment by the applicant of the connection fee. The time limit for the supplier to complete the connection facility of the applicant, which is a potential non-domestic consumer, shall not exceed 45 calendar days from the time the contract is signed for the connection and payment by the applicant of the connection fee. In specific cases (adverse weather conditions, limitations on the authorization of construction works), other time limits for the connection installation may be set upon submission of appropriate arguments by the supplier with the agreement of the applicant.
The mode of reconnection to the thermal grid is specified in Section 10, paragraphs 133 to 158 of the thermal energy supply Regulation, approved by ANRE Decision No 23 of 26.01.2017.
The start of the heating season for consumers shall take place after average or lower air temperature values of + 10 °C have been recorded for three consecutive days between 18.00 and 6.00 hours, And heating season stop – after 3 consecutive days when the average air temperature between 18.00 hours and 6.00 is greater than +10 °C. When making a written statement to the consumer on the earlier supply or the extension of the heating period, the supplier is obliged to deliver the heat provided that technical possibilities exist. The start and finish of the heating season is stipulated in Section 2, paragraph 15 of the Regulation on the supply of heat, approved by ANRE Decision No 23 of 26.01.2017.
According to point 85 of Annex 7 of the Government Decision no. 191 of 19.02.2002 „The subsequent complete disconnection from the central heating system will be made only with the written consent of all owners of apartments in the block of flats, living rooms in dormitories and the housing fund manager, provided the project of reconstruction of the central heating system heating developed by the design institutions or individuals holding a license in this type of activity, based on the inventory data of the existing centralized heating system and coordinated in the established manner. The responsibility for the veracity of the lists and signatures is attributed to the housing fund manager.”
At the same time, according to point 13 of the Regulation on gas connection and supply natural gas transmission and distribution services, approved by ANRE Decision no. 112 of 19.04.2019, „If the connection approval is requested for the installation of self-contained heater use in the apartment in the housing unit connected to the centralized heating system, The applicant shall submit to the distribution system operator (OSD) the acts demonstrating compliance with the provisions of Article 42 of the Law No 92 of 29 May 2014 on thermal energy and promotion of cogeneration.”
According to Article 42(8) of Law No 92 of 29.05.2014 "individual disconnections of apartments or parts of apartments situated in residential blocks, supplied by heat by the collective system, whatever the cause, may be effected under the following cumulative conditions:
The installation of independent heating on natural gas within the legislative limit is therefore permitted under the following conditions: receipt and fulfillment of technical conditions issued by the supplier, submission of written agreement of the housing fund manager and all the inhabitants of the block with the signature of their legal representatives, but not during the heating season (responsibility for the veracity of the lists and signatures is to be given to the housing fund manager). It is also necessary to present the project for the reconstruction of the district heating system, carried out by the design institute or individuals, who have a license for this type of activity, based on inventory data of the existing district heating system and coordinated accordingly.
Unauthorized disconnection and modifications of internal heating networks lead to a lack of quality heating parameters (insufficient heating of some apartments and at the same time overheating of one house), thus harming the right of consumers connected to the centralized heating system to receive a quality service at a fair price.
Moreover, in case of non-compliance with legal norms, i.e. unauthorized disconnection, the case is examined by the Administrative Commission at the City Hall of Balti, which is entitled to apply sanctions under art. 180 pt. (19) of the Contravention Code of the Republic of Moldova, which involves a fine in the amount of 30 u.c. up to 60 u.c. for individuals and from 60 u.c. up to 120 u.c. for legal entities.
At the same time, Article 46 of the Code provides that the penalty shall not absolve the breach of the obligation for which the default has been applied.
In this order of ideas, in case of unauthorized disconnection, CET-Nord is taking legal action in the courts on the subject of restoring the central heating system to the initial state on the consumer's account.
In order to improve the quality of service the company introduces new technologies for the modernization of the centralized heating system. In homes where the internal system has been upgraded, i.e. where the individual heat point has been installed and the horizontal vertical heat distribution system is rebuilt, consumers already enjoy a number of advantages:
Thus, upon receiving the disconnection decision from the centralized heating system, we recommend that consumers assess the benefits of installing the horizontal heat distribution system compared to the risks of unauthorized disconnection.
