Temperatures below standard level in one third of Chisinau homes

Temperatures were found to be below the standard level of 18°C in a third of homes in Chisinau, said Petru Gontea, the head of the municipal housing division, at the City Hall's ordinary meeting on Monday, Info-Prim Neo reports. Gontea said heating bills for these apartments will be recalculated if consumers fill complaints. Specialized teams will then travel to such addresses to assess the situation in the entire building. At the meeting, Deputy Mayor Vlad Cotet said the average output temperature of the delivered heat is around 60°C while the input temperature is 43°C. “At these parameters, the temperature in apartments fell below 13-15°C ”, said Cotet, adding that the heating plants CET 1 and CET2, which shifted to oil fuel after gas supply was halted, have enough amounts in stocks for 8-10 more days. At the same time, the deputy mayor said he didn't know whether the stocks would be refilled. “This is the Government's concern”, said Cotet. Mayor Dorin Chirtoaca said the situation in the city was kept under control, but urged municipal officials to stay on alert. Most of Chisinau's apartments rely on district heating for warmth in their radiators and fewer homes use single gas-fueled heaters for this purpose. The halt in gas supplies to Moldova on January 6 came as a result of the dispute between Russia and Ukraine over the gas transiting the Ukrainian territory and destined for Europe. On Monday morning, 16 locations in different parts of Moldova were still without gas.