Džubur: Consumer debt to heating plants from 1996 to date is 70 million KM

The 15% increase in heating prices is not enough for KJKP Toplane Sarajevo to operate at zero, but it is a big step forward for the company's operations, said Admir Džubur, director of KJKP Toplane Sarajevo. He cited as an example that the planned loss in 2015 was 17.7 million KM, and in 2016, with new prices, it is around 4 million KM, writes the BiH news agency Patria.

He emphasized that the company has been deteriorating for the last 10 years, and the consumer debt from 1996 to date to the heating plants is 70 million KM. The collection rate is 85%, and efforts will be made to increase it.

- We are cooperating with the courts. Processes of property seizure, restrictions on property disposal, pension and salary blockages have begun. There are some developments, but they need to be greater - said Džubur.

Toplane's debt to the energy supplier Sarajevogas is 90 million KM.

- What lies ahead in the coming period are discussions with Sarajevogas on how to resolve the problem of accumulated debts. We will try to cover this loss with the help of the KS Government. We hope to resolve this successfully - said Džubur.

He stated that the company itself is also working on savings and doing everything possible to stabilize Toplane. This company has 347 employees and 140 boiler rooms in its system, which, according to the director, are well-organized.

- In the last two years, we have 80 km of network in proper working order, we have no uncontrolled losses in the network, and we control our system. In the last two years, we have built five new boiler rooms in cooperation with investors who have become part of Toplane's ownership, thereby increasing the company's capital. This concerns about 150,000 square meters of commercial and residential space connected to Toplane - said Džubur.

New Tariff System

KJKP Toplane will start implementing a new Tariff System for users who pay a flat rate for heating from January 1, 2016, by decision of the KS Government.

The 7+5 tariff system should start on 01.01.2016, which is a valid decision. This means that users will pay a higher bill in the winter months (October-April) and a lower bill in the summer months (May-September) - said Džubur.

In practice, this looks like this:

For an apartment of 60 square meters with adjusted (increased) prices, users will pay 136.42 KM in winter months and 39.19 KM in summer months, totaling 1150.90 KM annually. The regular monthly price will be 95.91 KM.

Installation of Heat Meters

The project of installing heat meters should be one phase of the complete tariff policy in the Canton of Sarajevo. The tariff policy was implemented in three phases. The first was the verification of existing tariff rates, the second item was the adoption of the economic price and the transition to the 7+5 calculation from 01.01.2016. The third phase of the tariff system envisages that from 01.01.2020, the calculation of thermal energy for all users of thermal energy will be done through meters.

- We have cumulative and individual meters. All new buildings from the war to the present operate on a system of individual meters, and we have nearly 3,000 apartments for which energy is billed through meters, while the remaining 50,000 users are billed a flat rate - said Džubur, adding that by 2020, efforts should be made to insulate buildings, replace windows, install thermostatic valves, and install heat cost allocators on two-pipe systems.