The Ministry of Energy has initiated a public consultation procedure on the methodology for the distribution of thermal energy consumption in residential blocks of flats, in order to take into account specific cases. The amendments will be subject to public consultation to take into account all opinions.

The aim of the present draft is to bring fairness to the process of distributing thermal energy by individualizing the calculations for distributing thermal energy and ensuring fairness in the bills of residents in blocks of flats where there are apartments disconnected from the collective heat supply system.

The main changes proposed by the Ministry of Energy concern the adjustment of the calculation formulas for particular cases, such as attic, first and top floor apartments. At the same time, housing fund managers and tenants will have the right to approve a methodology at the condominium level and propose their own mechanism for distributing heat consumption within the block. Its provisions were presented by Energy Minister Victor Parlicov at a press conference on Friday, June 30.

At the same time, energy suppliers will exchange information on consumption in disconnected apartments in order to check compliance with the obligation to maintain a minimum temperature of 18 degrees Celsius. Otherwise, these apartments consume heat energy by transfer from neighboring apartments.

We recall that between 2000-2022 approx. 24 thousand apartments or 10% of all apartments in mun. Chisinau were disconnected from SACET, while in mun. Balti the proportion is about 30%. The centralized heat supply system is one of the most economically efficient, because two forms of energy - heat and electricity - are produced in cogeneration (simultaneously).

Thus, the Ministry of Energy is promoting the connection/reconnection of all public buildings to the SACET and is also encouraging the residential sector to use district heating. In particular because there are massive further investments to be made in changing the heat distribution systems in residential blocks from the Soviet vertical to horizontal. This will allow individual meters to be installed in each flat, and consumers will be able to regulate the temperature in each room and pay exactly what they consume.

Since 2002, consumers who disconnected themselves completely from the centralized heat supply system were obliged to pay 5% of the amount calculated for the surface area of the disconnected rooms. In 2011, a payment of 10% to 20% of the cost of thermal energy, calculated per square meter of the apartment, was introduced for those disconnected.

The Constitutional Court declared these provisions unconstitutional in 2022, but obliged the Government to develop a mechanism to take account of particular cases.

The methodology was approved in October 2022 in order to implement the provisions of paragraph 4 of the Provision of the Commission for Exceptional Situations No. 45 of October 31, 2022, by Order No. 184 of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Regional Development.

The project can be consulted on the government portal https://particip.gov.md/ro/document/stages/*/10708