The households in Bucharest that still use the district heating system for heating and hot water will pay RON 330 per Gcal as of April 1 - twice as much as they have paid during the past winter season, according to a decision endorsed by the Bucharest City Council.

The representatives of the Liberal Party PNL and reformist party USR eventually agreed on the price hike, as well as on extending a subsidy of RON 650 per Gcal, such as to cover the actual cost of producing and transporting the heating (some RON 980 per Gcal), News.ro reported.

Consequently, the households will still pay among the lowest prices for heating in the country compared to other municipalities in Romania that still have in place such systems. More importantly, they will pay only one-third of the actual production and transportation cost.

In all fairness, it should be said that actually, the households in Bucharest will pay half of the production and distribution costs, as one-third of the hot water pumped by the distribution company is lost and never reaches the homes. 

andrei@romania-insider.com

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