HJØRRING: A municipal guarantee for a loan of 16.1 million DKK now appears to be the only option to save Hirtshals District Heating from bankruptcy and thus ensure that around 2,700 households can continue to have hot water in their taps and radiators.
Hirtshals District Heating was one of six district heating companies that lost over 44 million DKK in 2018-2021 by speculating on electricity prices via the since-collapsed company Dansk Kraftvarme Kapacitet. The lost millions must not be charged via a higher price to consumers, the Danish Utilities Supervisory Authority has determined, and therefore Hirtshals District Heating went under reconstruction just under a year ago.
Since then, several models have been worked on for how the company's finances can be saved, but none of them have been successful. And if there is no final solution before a meeting in the bankruptcy court on March 4, the company will be declared bankrupt, according to a report from the finance committee.
Most realistic
It is emphasized here that not all options explored are completely closed, but that a municipal guarantee is the most realistic solution. Therefore, a unanimous finance committee recommends that the municipality's representative must vote for it in the bankruptcy court.
If the company goes bankrupt, the municipality will be liable for just over 4 million DKK, which it has previously guaranteed, and it will also lose an outlay of just over 1 million DKK, which has already been paid in defaulted services.
In return, the guarantee will mean that the municipality must reduce its loan limit by the 16.1 million DKK or deposit the amount. Both will affect the municipality's liquidity, and this does not excite Mayor Søren Smalbro (V).
- It's true that we don't have to take the money out of the coffers directly, but it does reserve the amount in the municipality's finances, he tells Nordjyske and explains that he had hoped for a solution where the company merged with Hjørring Varmeforsyning. However, the board of directors in Hjørring said no to that.
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