New tariff system from August 1: You will pay 40% of the heating price in summer

The KS Government adopted the Tariff System of KJKP „Toplane-Sarajevo“ d.o.o. Sarajevo with the Methodology for calculating supplied thermal energy, which will be applied from August 1, 2016, and will be valid for all residential and business premises, writes the Patria News Agency.

The first phase applies to users who have installed individual thermal energy consumption meters and pay according to consumption, and the tariff system for such users has determined that the invoicing method and calculation method remain the same.

The second phase and the biggest change brought by the tariff system applies to users who paid a flat rate per square meter, i.e., linearly throughout all 12 months of the year. The change implies that within the existing and current price of central heating, there will be a change in the invoicing method, i.e., a new calculation methodology, in such a way that 40% of the total annual price of central heating will be invoiced over 12 months, which represents the fixed part, while the remaining 60% of the valid price represents the energy part and will be invoiced only during the seven months when the heating season is underway.

- Users who pay per square meter will pay the annual amount as before, but this amount will be distributed differently and unevenly throughout the months, depending on whether the season is underway or not. For May, June, July, August, and September, they will pay 40%, and for October, November, December, January, February, March, and April, they will pay 40% and 60%. The price remains the same on an annual level – says Ženja Ljubuškić, spokesperson for KJKP Toplane Sarajevo.

In practice, a residential user who previously paid 100 KM for all 12 months, totaling 1,200 KM, will now pay 40 KM for five months outside the season and 142 KM for seven months in the season, which amounts to 1,200 KM on an annual level.

- The KS Government opted for this type of change so that Toplane Sarajevo can meet its obligations to Sarajevogas for the supplied natural gas, which is the basic energy source for producing thermal energy, during the heating season, and so that the company can fulfill its VAT payment obligations at the time the service is provided during the heating season – says Ljubuškić.

This new method of invoicing and calculating thermal energy guarantees the regular supply of thermal energy, i.e., a higher quality service for all users during the heating season.

The third phase implies that all users will pay according to thermal energy consumption, and this phase is expected to come into effect from January 1, 2020. For users who do not have an individual thermal energy meter installed, consumption will be calculated based on the cumulative/shared consumption meter of the entire building, and the price will be distributed according to the apartment's square footage.

Toplane Sarajevo announced that in the coming period, they will undertake activities to explain the changes in the new tariff system in more detail.