The Santa Cruz de Tenerife City Council plans to pay 10 million euros to Emmasa (Empresa Mixta de Aguas) to resolve the company's judicial claims. The company alleges damages due to delays in the annual water tariff updates, linked to the CPI, during the period from 2015 to 2023.
An extraordinary plenary session this Friday, July 30, will address the necessary budget modification to make the payment. According to the Councilor for Public Services, Carlos Tarife, this agreement will allow the council to save 2.3 million euros compared to the company's initial claim.
The Public Services department has requested the budget modification from the Treasury department to formalize the agreement. This involves the City Council paying the 10 million euros claimed by Emmasa for delays in updating water supply, sewage, and purification tariffs over nearly a decade.
Tarife explained that the agreement was reached after more than a year of negotiations and highlighted that it reduces the original claim of almost 12.3 million, thus avoiding "new interest, costs, and judicial proceedings." The file will be sent to the Consultative Council to enhance transparency and legal guarantees.
The agreement only covers non-judicialized claims. The City Council will still have to address pending court rulings, such as a recent sentence ordering the payment of another four million euros to Emmasa for the 2021 tariffs. Two other judicial proceedings remain for delayed sewage and purification charges (2012 and 2016) and supply tariffs (2012 and 2017).
Councilor Carlos Tarife emphasized that the annual compliance with tariff revisions, as stipulated in the contract with Emmasa, will close the litigation phase and prevent future economic losses. The water bill will increase annually based on the CPI.
Tarife stated that "contracts are to be fulfilled" and that the budget modification aims to end the judicial battle, avoiding higher amounts and legal costs. Emmasa's original claim exceeded 27.5 million euros, including deficits in sewage and purification, but the council only deemed the payment for tariff update delays viable.
Thanks to negotiations, the payment has been reduced from almost 13 million to 10 million euros, representing a saving of over two million for the municipal coffers. The file will be sent to the Consultative Council to ensure the transparency of the process.
