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Change notice
The notice hanging on the staircase of the apartment building in Karoliniškės informs that AB Vilniaus šilumos tinklai (VŠT), “fulfilling the duty of supplier of hot water foreseen in the Rules of Supply and Consumption of Heat, has begun to replace the meters of hot water due to metrological inspection ”.
As of March 22, the hot water meters will be removed from the apartments of this house for metrological verification, and meters with valid metrological verification will be installed in their place. The work will be carried out by a contractor with whom the residents will have until April 22. and they are asked to get in touch and agree on a time.
We note that from the date of the infringement, we will apply the maximum standards for hot water consumption to calculate the amount of hot water consumed.
“If the owner of the apartment does not create conditions / does not coordinate the time to carry out the replacement work of the hot water meter within the specified period, in 2021. May 24 12 pm The fact of the violation of the Rules will be recorded. (…) We observe that from the date of the infringement, we will apply the maximum standards for hot water consumption to calculate the amount of hot water consumed, ”the announcement warns.
You understand the need, but is it time?
Eve says this announcement surprised her in an extremely unpleasant way. Along with the daughters, one of whom studies remotely and the other does not attend kindergarten due to the pandemic, the woman who spends time at home said she did not understand why the deadline for the change of counters was not postponed.
“Now, during the strict quarantine, we have changed the hot water meters in our house. I understand that the time for its metrological verification is over, but the logic is small, ”said the Vilnius resident.
Although the call is made only from this Monday, already on the same day, the neighbor of Karoliniškės said that he had also received a visit from the representatives of the company that will carry out the works.
After knocking on the door, they again recalled the need to change the meters and warned that if not, the procedure will take effect at the end of May, when the rate will be calculated by assigning 3 cubic meters. of hot water to each inhabitant of the apartment.
Water meter
“That’s the way it is here, we are subject to a strict quarantine, but teachers who have already visited ten or even more apartments that day can come to our house,” Ieva was surprised.
Change is necessary, but it won’t come home
Laurynas Jakubauskas, director of the Vilniaus šilumos tinklai Customer Service Department, says it’s time to change the meters, but the pandemic also dictates its own rules: residents have the right to refuse service at least for now.
According to L. Jakubauskas, the law obliges the company to ensure that the meters work properly.
It is like having a technical inspection of a car: when it is finished, you have to take care of it.
Like during the first quarantine, in the summer, so during the second quarantine and now, we really don’t go to those apartments whose owners disagree.
“We have submitted a request to the Metrology Service with a request to postpone certain deadlines. Last year COVID-19 deprived us not only of the semester for which the inspection can be postponed. Customers often did not agree to change in summer, they expected the fall and so on, then our schedule was very tight.
Like during the first quarantine, in the summer, so during the second quarantine and now, we really don’t go to those apartments whose owners disagree. We had stopped the change completely, but since March 22, when certain restrictions were released, we have started again ”, said L. Jakubauskas and clarified that not only VŠT, but also other heat suppliers in Lithuania have applied to the Service of Metrology. .
It starts with the broken
According to a company representative, there are several customer groups. The first were those who reported meter failures during quarantine.
Since November alone, some 4,000 such cases have been recorded, so efforts are being made to visit them first and change the meter.
Photo by Irmantas Gelūnas / 15min / Vilnius heating networks
The other group are those customers whose meters need to be changed due to periodic metrological verification.
“We do not go to anyone if the client does not agree. We post announcements, we receive calls, the contractors, before they arrive, also ask if people are not isolated, do not get sick. It is not so easy to arrange the time to come and change the meters in the whole staircase ”, said the head of the customer service department.
VŠT has lists of customers who rejected the change both during the first quarantine and during the summer. Therefore, as L. Jakubauskas says, there is a bit of conflict with the law, but the timing is also unusual.
Another of those nuances: our visit lasts no more than 15 minutes.
According to the VŠT representative, the workers performing the work must comply with all safety requirements: every morning they measure the temperature and have all the protective equipment.
“Another nuance: our visit does not last more than 15 minutes. Changing the meter is not a long process, we probably would not even have started if it had taken half an hour or an hour. If the contractor fails within that time, you should take a break and Come next time so that the 15 minute time is not exceeded.
Because changing the meter is turning on the water, unscrewing the two screws, which is more difficult unless the screws are rusted. The apartments of the old construction have two counters: in the bathroom and in the kitchen. But the master guesses everything in 15 minutes, “said a VŠT representative.
L. Jakubauskas also assured him that he would have to pay for three cubic meters of hot water consumed by each resident.
It is alleged that this is foreseen in the legal acts, but Vilnius Heat Networks promises not to take such measures while the pandemic and quarantine continues.
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