The Contentious-Administrative Court number 6 of Las Palmas has condemned the Teguise City Council to pay 1,478,012.95 euros plus interest to Insular de Aguas de Lanzarote S.A. (Inalsa), for a debt incurred between 2002 and 2013, when the City Council spent years without paying for the supply it received or for the sanitation fee. The ruling, dated last November 30, has been revealed by the PSOE group in the municipality, which states that the ruling also imposes the payment of costs on the City Council.
The party, which states that it "regrets the new conviction" of Teguise, points out that the defense of the City Council presided over by Oswaldo Betancort did not deny either the provision of the service or the existence of the debt during the lawsuit. "It alleged the statute of limitations on the debt, in view of the imprecision of the requirements made by Inalsa, which the Court does not share, giving the public company full reason," he specifies.
Now, the spokesperson for the PSOE, Marcos Bergaz, states that he hopes that "on this occasion the mayor will immediately inform all the parties and councilors of the Corporation about the intentions he has regarding this ruling", which he clarifies is not yet final. However, for Bergaz, "common sense invites not to appeal the ruling, in view of the precedents, with similar convictions to other local entities, such as the Arrecife City Council, as well as the forcefulness of the ruling."
"The most logical thing is to agree with Inalsa, either a payment plan in different installments or compensation through the transfer of land suitable for the implementation of renewable energies, something we are committed to," said the councilor of Teguise and also a councilor of the Cabildo.
In this sense, he recalls that Inalsa "is the main producer of renewable energy on the island of Lanzarote, exploiting different wind farms, such as the Teguise wind farm, the one in Arrecife about to come into operation or the future San Bartolomé wind farm, all of them in the vicinity of Montaña Mina; in addition to participating in the Los Valles park within Eólicas Lanzarote."
In addition, Marcos Bergaz recalls that "this is not the first conviction suffered by the Consistory, with Teguise currently paying for other judgments such as that of Caleta Caballo, for which the City Council is facing the payment of more than six million euros for the occupation of land in this coastal town, or the return of more than 700,000 euros to a company for the return of the ICIO for a hotel that was finally not built."
