The centralized heating system in Bucharest consumes EUR 260 million every year from the state budget, according to Emil Calota, vice president of the National Authority for Energy Regulation (ANRE).

“The centralized heating system in Bucharest currently consumes EUR 160 million from the local budget, (representing) the subsidy to final consumers, whereas EUR 100 million are cogeneration costs given to the producers. So, we have EUR 260 million that goes every year in the generalized system of heat supply,” he added, reports local Agerpres.

Calota explained that a law approved last year abolishes the current system by which Bucharest and other cities subsidize the heat supplied to their inhabitants.

“Starting next year in February, the heating aid that we currently give in the form of subsidies from the City Hall’s budget will no longer be applicable,” he said. This may result in higher costs for the households.

While the heating system consumes a lot of resources, it is also very inefficient. The ANRE official estimates that the system losses amount to 65% of the energy produced. Some 40% of the heat is lost in households, due to inefficient use, and 25% is lost in the distribution network, according to Calota.

He thinks that the state should invest in equipping each household with metering equipment so that each household can pay exactly what it consumes.

editor@romania-insider.com