TRANSPARENCY AZERBAIJAN AND “BAKI ELEKTRIKŞƏBƏKƏ” DISCUSS SUCCESSES AND CHALLENGES IN ELECTRIC POWER SUPPLY

Posted by: admin | Posted on: Апрель 23, 2013

On June 14, 2011, “Transparency Azerbaijan”, with the support of US Agency for International Development (USAID), in cooperation with “Baku Electric Shebeke OJSV (Baku Electric network) ” — the supplier of electric energy in the Republic of Azerbaijan – and other stakeholders discussed current problems and achievements in supply of electric power to the population of the Azerbaijan Republic. Representatives from Baku City Housing and Utilities department, Ministry of Emergency Situations, Prosecutor’s Office, NGOs and International Organizations also participated in the meeting. In recent years, several initiatives have been carried out to improve the supply of electric power to the population and to reduce corruption in service provision. These initiatives include the installation of new meters, computerization of customer payment records, as well as obligations of the supplier and consumers, and increasing the transparency of complaints mechanisms.Participants identified and discussed current deficiencies in the supply of electric power with the aim of minimizing possibilities for corrupt practices, and also explore ways to address these deficiencies.
The event succeeded in establishing a dialogue between civil society members and government representatives, as well as in promoting public debate on anti-corruption issues. Gara Nabiyev, Head of Sales Department, Baku Electric Shebeke (Baku Electric Network) spoke of his firm’s efforts to reform the energy supply system and to improve the quality of service provided to the population. Rena Safaralieva, Executive Director of Transparency Azerbaijan, discussed problems in the transparency of energy supply and made general recommendations to improve that sphere. Alimamed Nuriyev, President of the Constitution Research Fund and coordinator of Information and Cooperation Network of Anti-corruption NGOs, discussed existing problems in consumer-supplier relations in provision of electric energy to the population. Alekper Agasiyev, an expert on the utilities sector from the Constitution Research Fund, talked about typical violations of the consumer’s rights by electric energy suppliers. The participants praised the value in this exchange between government and civil society and pledged to meet again to address the issues raised.