JHL (15.02.2015 - Heikki Jokinen) The steep rise of the electricity distribution rates is a harsh reminder when services are brought into market, writes Jarkko Eloranta, chairperson of the Trade Union for the Public and Welfare Sectors JHL.
Electricity firm Caruna announced recently on major rise in their electricity distribution prices. As the company is having a natural monopoly in electricity distribution, their customers are left with no other option than to pay.
The state owned energy company Fortum sold their electricity networks to Caruna in 2013. Caruna is mainly owned by foreign investors. Now Caruna takes the sales price back with interest rates, too, Eloranta writes in his blog.
”What makes the case even more dreadful is that Caruna pays practically no tax in Finland for their profit”, Eloranta says. The Finnish Caruna has loaned money from their mother company in the Netherlands with a exceptionally high 8.5 per cent interest rate.
As a result of this Caruna paid only 1.6 per cent tax of their 50 million profit in Finland. And the Netherlands is an intra European tax haven, too.
”What happens in Finland is not exceptionally in Europe or internationally. To privatise and move to the market public and joint services has often lead to a situation where the costs of consumers and tax payers have raised fiercely without civil servants or politicians having practically any way to interfere it.”
Now the Government of Finland want to move more public services to the private market, Eloranta writes. This applies e.g. rail traffic and social and health care. This should be considered thoroughly and see what are the effects in the long run.
”How big is the risk for rising prices, tax avoidance and loosing the public control? We also have to remember that once the decision is made, there is no return”, Eloranta stress.