Market announcement

Title

AS Tallinna Vesi's operational performance in the nine months of 2014

Message

Our first priority is to provide our customers with high-quality drinking
water, reliable water supply and wastewater discharge service. Similar to
previous years, the nine months of 2014 can be characterised by consistently
high quality levels. We will continue to focus on maintaining all our key
performance indicators so our consumers can rely on the service they receive.
The nine months of the year have shown that the quality of drinking water in
Tallinn is excellent. Low leakage level is another positive sign of the
Company’s excellent performance. 

We continue to commit to the improvement of customer service and focus on
activities that will increase the environmental awareness of the community. 

Operational indicators for the nine months of 2014:

Indicator                                             9 months of  9 months     
                                                       2013         of 2014     
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Drinking water                                                                  
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- 
Compliance of water quality at the customers tap           99.64%         99.77%
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Water loss in the water distribution network               16.65%         16.33%
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Average duration of water interruptions per property  3.54 hrs     2.96 hrs     
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Wastewater                                                                      
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- 
Number of sewer blockages                                     605            582
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Number of customer contacts regarding floodings,             1150            788
 blockages and storm water                                                      
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Wastewater treatment compliance with environmental           100%           100%
 standards                                                                      
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Customer Service                                                                
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- 
Number of written complaints                                  107             51
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Number of customer contacts regarding water quality           195            129
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Number of customer contacts regarding water pressure          472            273
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Responding to written customer contacts within at             99%         98.90%
 least 2 work days                                                              
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Number of failed promises                                     115             42
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Notification of unplanned water interruptions at           96.95%         96.77%
 least 1hr before the interruption                                              
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------



Tap water is drinking water

The quality of drinking water is subject to very strict legal requirements and
is in line with the Programmes of Monitoring Drinking Water Quality approved by
the Health Board. In the nine months of 2014, we took 2210 water samples from
the consumers’ taps in Tallinn and Saue. 99.77% of all those samples were 100%
compliant with the applicable quality requirements. Only five samples were
non-compliant, due to higher iron concentration. We immediately carried out
maintenance works on the water network on the streets, following which new
samples taken that were fully compliant. In Maardu, all the samples taken from
the consumers’ taps were 100% compliant with the requirements. 

As the water quality has remained at a consistent high level, we continue to
encourage people to drink tap water. 

A reliable service

We understand that the services we provide considerably affect the quality of
life of all people. Therefore we concentrate on providing a reliable and high
quality service 24/7. As a result of proactive planning and optimisation of
works, we have considerably managed to reduce the duration of water
interruptions year-on-year. In the 3rd quarter of 2014, the average duration of
a water interruption was 2.96 hours, which compares favourably to 3.58 hours in
the same period of last year. This also means that less inconvenience has been
caused to customers by water interruptions, resulting in fewer customer
contacts. Compared to the same period of 2013, the number of customer contacts
related to water interruptions has reduced by 370 in the 3rd quarter of 2014. 

Cleaner environment

Paljassaare Wastewater Treatment Plant is operating effectively to ensure full
compliance with the environmental standards and cleanliness of the Baltic Sea
and Tallinn Bay. In the 3rd quarter, the effluent complied with all standards. 

Our focus continues to be on reducing the risks related to potential floodings,
pollution and on decreasing potential inconveniences to our customers.
Preventive jet washing has resulted in 23 sewer blockages less in nine months
than during the same period last year. We cleaned 120 km of sewer network, and
2795 storm water inlets during the nine months of 2014. 

The level of leakages is also decreasing year-on-year. In the 3rd quarter, the
level of leakages was 16.19% and 16.38% within nine months. In the nine months
of 2014, we had to repair 90 fewer broken pipes, than in the same period last
year. Constant reduction in leakage levels means that we are saving
approximately 13 000 m3 of treated drinking water a day, compared to the time
10 years ago. 

Customer is our partner

Our commitment is that throughout all our activities, we will have as little
negative impact on customers as possible. The number of customer contacts has
significantly decreased also in 2014 compared to the same period last year.
This reduction is mainly related to the improved reliability of service
resulting from proactive maintenance work. Consequently, there have been less
customer contacts and complaints in relation to blockages, water interruptions
and water pressure, which has reduced the number of complaints. This year there
have been 51 complaints in nine months, which represents a considerable
reduction on last year’s figure of 107 for the same period. We believe it is
very important that our customers knew when their issues would get resolved. We
thoroughly monitor our compliance with the promised deadlines and keep our
customers informed if we are not able to keep our promise. 

Customer awareness

Our aspiration is to raise awareness and promote environmental lifestyle among
the population. Throughout the year, we work closely with our communities on a
range of activities, including schools and nurseries, to promote environmental
awareness. We encourage people to drink tap water through various campaigns and
have involved several restaurants and other partners therein. In the end of
August, we had a record of 850 people visiting the open door days at Ülemiste
Water Treatment Plant. This demonstrates that people are interested in how
water is produced and how it gets to their tap. 


         Mariliis Mia Topp
         AS Tallinna Vesi
         Head of Communications
         Tel: (+372) 62 62 275
         [email protected]