| 摘要 | ABSTRACT
1. Research Purpose
The reserve for district heating supply facility construction (hereinafter 'reserve for construction') is a legal reserve provided in Integrated Energy Supply Act (IESA). IESA stipulates that the heat supplier must place the reserve for construction into the fund for construction expenses annually. However, The IESA does not prescribe a way of using the reserve.
On the other hand, old supply facilities are increasing. That is, the facilities older than 15 years will be in charge of supplying more than 80% of the whole supply of district heating in five years. It means the time for reinvestment of supply facilities is coming. Therefore, it is necessary to examine the current status of the reserve for construction and a way of using the reserve.
However, there are few precedent studies on this topic at present. Furthermore, the accumulated reserve fund for construction as well as the collected amount of the depreciation charge of DH supply facilities are not revealed to the public. This study has been motivated by such a situation and carried out to examine the current status of the reserve for construction and to seek a rational way of using the reserve.
2. Summary
A. The Legal System of the Reserve for Construction
Suppliers, who collect the construction fees from customers and purchase the facilities with the fees, must place the reserve for construction into the reserve funds if the suppliers collect the depreciation costs (DC) of the facilities from the customers.
The required amount of the reserve for construction is that of DC collected. The reserve must be saved annually in principle, but the reserve for the year may be saved for the following year if unappropriated earned surplus is insufficient. The deadline for completing the reserve is not stipulated by law, but there is a penalty for violating reserve laws. The use of the reserve for construction is not defined by law, but the reserve is defined under the pretext of ��construction expenses��.
B. Current Status of the Reserve
There are only three cases that the reserve for construction is saved on a regular basis. Most suppliers neither save the reserve due to deficit nor recognize their legal obligation to save the reserve due to the price-cap on district heat price. Especially, the price-cap makes it difficult to judge whether the obligation is applicable.
C. A Way of Using the Reserve for Construction
Although a way of using the reserve is not defined by law, usage cannot go against the purpose of the reserve and should be compatible with the established basis law. A way of using the reserve must meet a condition of a construction expense, because the reserve is defined under the pretext of ��construction expenses�� for supply facilities. Also, it must meet the condition to compensate for the customers from whom the depreciation costs (DC) of the facilities are collected.
There are three alternatives which satisfy the conditions of the construction expenses and compensation for the customers, such as construction fee exemption, customer price exemption, and the joint investment on supply facility construction (hereinafter ��joint investment��). The first two alternatives utilize the reserve as a fund for compensation. The joint investment utilize the reserve as a fund for the construction expenses of city-wide heat network and compensate the customers by the benefits generated from the joint investment.
The joint investment is very significant in the sense that it makes it possible to introduce competition into the market and promotes rational restructuring of the market. It offers solutions for market reconstruction such as the decision of the companies to exit, the change of their main service, alternative heat supply and so on.
In the case of joint investment, the compensation to the customer does not depend on the size of the reserve. The coverage of compensation includes not only the customers but also the suppliers and other local community members. The joint investment can be considered as a rational way of using the reserve, because it continues to generate benefits and contributes to social welfare maximization as far as competition is maintained.
3. Research Results and Policy Suggestions
One of the most imminent challenges from the view of policy is to secure the validity of the reserve, because there is a risk for the high-cost suppliers to fail in saving the reserve. Considering such a risk, more practical and appropriate methods for the supplier to save the reserve depending on the type of suppliers are required.
Under Article 22 of the Enforcement Regulation of the IESA, the suppliers who collect the DC from the customers are under obligation to save the reserve. However, it is not easy to judge an obligator among the suppliers and the amount of the reserve when fixed costs could not be recouped under the price-cap. Thus, clear and reasonable criteria needs to be established.
At present, there is no rule for how to deal with the DC or the reserve. This may cause conflicts in the process of M&A or transfer of assets, because an acquisition price usually does not reflect the DC or the reserve. Thus, the methods and applicable provisions need to be provided. |
