ODSHERRED: The chairman of Odsherred Forsyning, city council member Mathias Hansen (V), resigned from the chairmanship on Tuesday, he informs Sealand News.
The chairman is the third politician to resign from the utility company's board in a short time following a case of serious financial problems in a district heating project.
Approx. 2,500 properties in southern Odsherred are to be converted from natural gas to district heating, but serious mistakes were found in the calculations by a former financial director, who in December 2022-July 2023 was also acting managing director of the company.
The finance director was initially fired in January. It was shortly afterwards changed to an expulsion, on the grounds that he had violated the company's internal guidelines. In March, a legal investigation was launched into the former finance director's actions in the case, and a police report was filed.
The economy has slipped
Already in March, the now-departed chairman of Odsherred Forsyning stated that the board had not been presented with the real financial basis of the project and that the rates would rise.
The construction costs were first estimated at DKK 950 million. DKK, but has been adjusted upwards in two rounds, so that they now stand at DKK 1.6 billion. DKK.
According to mayor Karina Vincentz (Nyt Odsherred), a rescue plan must be put together, and a municipal guarantee of DKK 576 million will be triggered in this connection. The problems in the utility company will, on the whole, have an impact on the municipality's finances.
- It is clear that it is going to cost some money, and therefore we are already starting to make some savings catalogs for budget 2025, she says to Sjællandske Nyheder.
She emphasizes that a solution must be found to prevent the utility company from going bankrupt. In the first instance, an extraordinary general meeting must be called in Odsherred Forsyning, so that new members can be elected to the board.
Meanwhile, the project to convert properties from natural gas to district heating is at a standstill, reports Odsherred Forsyning, which earlier this month decided to suspend all capital investments in the subsidiary Odsherred Varme.
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