Aspects of Consumers’ Rights Protection for the Centralised Urban Heating Services

Sabin-Ioan Irimie, Dan Codrut Petrilean and Constantin Dan Dumitrescu

Abstract:

From antiquity to modern cities, their evolution depended on the technical progress of transports (water networks, wastewater networks, thermal networks, electricity networks, shipping, rail road, road and air transports). Thus the food, water, energy, raw materials and materials were provided for large agglomerations/concentrations of people. Collection, discharge and pollution of air, soil and water represent major problems of the locale public administrations. The quality of urban life involves the existence of general interest economic services (SGEI), of facilities that correspond to the needs of people. They are provided by public intervention and for the general public use under quality, safety, affordability, equal treatment or universal access conditions. This study approaches the issue of urban heating services in the current context of development and crisis. The importance of the energy area is highlighted in a globalised world as well as of knowledge, current state and the implications on the efficiency and sustainability of urban energy for the increase of the quality of the consumers’ life. The research was based on the assumption that there is a contractual partnership between the service supplier and consumer and that both perspectives are important to be investigated. But in this paper the authors aim to present the results of researches carried out on the protection of the consumers’ rights, only from the perspective of top management in a utility service regarding the centralised supply with thermal energy (example the status of Petroșani municipality). This perspective, less common – as usually the consumers are consulted on how their rights are observed – wished to extend the vision on the issue of interest in the general interest economic services area. Based on a structured interview valuable information was obtained regarding the observance of consumers’ rights in the area of urban centralised heating service. Some information highlights the actual state and other aim/target its improvement.