Salty bills for heating or a new formula for building installation? Dimitar Todorov to FAKTII

Sofian residents will still pay salty for heating, because the Ministry of Energy has not yet presented a new formula for determining the share of building installation in the total heating energy. The formula was canceled by the Supreme Administrative Court (SAC) in September, and a month later by the Court of Justice of the EU in Luxembourg on the grounds that it is opaque and does not allow for accurate reporting of the individual consumption of each household. What awaits us… Expert Dimitar Todorov, with whom we have already discussed the topic in detail, speaks to FAKTII. The only explanation for the heating bills came recently from Ivan Marinov, head of the “Security of Electricity Supply and Crisis Management” Directorate at the Ministry of Energy. He announced that the Supreme Administrative Court had canceled the formula due to procedural violations, not because it had incorrect parameters. "The building installation is due and must be distributed", announced Marinov, adding that the Regulation on Heat Supply contains rules for determining the amount of monthly heating bills, and one option is to calculate estimated bills, which can then be adjusted with equalization. The other option is for each condominium to determine what the share of the building installation in the total heating energy should be - between 20 and 40 percent.

- Mr. Todorov, the topic of heating bills and how the building installation is calculated is more than relevant. The court canceled the formula, the Ministry of Energy still cannot propose a new one… What's going on?
- At the end of the year, the formula for calculating the energy from the building installation (SI) became as relevant as the state budget. The Ministry of Energy still cannot propose a new formula, just as the government could not propose a satisfactory budget. A few days ago, your colleagues from the newspaper "Sega" published an article: "Sofian residents will pay heating for November on last year's bills". In it, they publish a response to them from "Toplofikatsiya Sofia": "Until the moment the Ministry of Energy presents a decision or a new regulation is adopted, the monthly invoices for heating energy are prepared in accordance with Art. 155, para. 1, item 2 of the Energy Act, i.e. – based on a forecast share, which is equalized after the end of the heating season. The bills for November are calculated based on the actual consumption of heat energy from the previous period." What an irony... Creating a formula for energy consumption is as difficult as creating the state budget.

- But what else do you see?
- Seriously, in this article, Mr. Ivan Marinov - Head of the Directorate “Security of Electricity Supply and Crisis Management” at the Ministry, says that there are two options. One option is to charge estimated bills, which are then adjusted with equalization. The other option is for each condominium to determine the share of the building installation in the total heating energy – between 20 and 40%.
We already talked about these percentages and the role of the general meeting of the condominium in the previous interview.

We said that with such a decision, the Ministry of Energy abdicates all responsibility

and condemns subscribers to internecine wars. This is not accepted by anyone, and for this reason, the calculation of the energy of the building installation has been carried out so far according to the formula.

- Why do they do it by the Ministry of Energy?
- Let them say! For greater clarity, let's remember some things from 7 years ago. In 2018, this notorious formula was also canceled by the Supreme Administrative Court. The Ministry of Energy was tasked with amending the Regulation on Heat Supply 16-334/06.04.2007 and proposing a new formula for the building installation. Many meetings were held with representatives of the district heating companies, the consumer federation, the share distribution companies and even the scientific community before a working group was appointed by the Minister of Energy. Even then, the difficulties in creating a new formula were noticed and the already mentioned Ivan Marinov, and not only him, proposed to write a percentage in the interval from 20 to 40 in the regulation. And they wrote it, but as a possibility.

- And now this thesis is being launched again…
- Exactly. When asked how these percentages were determined, it was answered that a statistical analysis of many equalization accounts throughout the country was carried out and the result was that the energy of the building installation in relation to the total heating energy fluctuated between these percentages. A second question followed, which no one wanted to answer.

And it was the following: “How can statistical analysis be done on data that is known in advance to be incorrect? These data were obtained by using the existing formula for the building installation, which was canceled by the court?“

This question still stands with terrible force. If even now no one can and does not want to answer this question, then the ministry should forget about these 20 and 40% and take another path.

- Is there one?
- There is such a path. The right path must be followed, and that is to comply with the law.
Article 10, item 1 of Directive 2012/27 states that "the billing information shall be accurate and based on actual consumption". Article 155, paragraph 2 of the Energy Act also states that "the heat transfer company or the heat supplier shall invoice the consumed amount of heat energy based on actual consumption at least once a year". That is, it is stated very clearly that actual consumption must be invoiced. The equalization accounts give the energy for heating the condominium. It is obtained by subtracting the energy for hot water from the total energy consumption for the facility (according to the heat meter readings in the subscriber station). The resulting heating energy can be considered actual. Multiplying this energy by 0.15, we will get the energy of the building installation. The proposed formula looks like this:
Qси = 0.15 Qот
where:
Qси = the energy of the building installation for the SES;
Qот = the energy for heating from the equalization account;
0.15 = coefficient showing the share of the energy of the building installation in relation to the energy for heating from the equalization account.

A simple, clear, understandable, accessible and transparent formula! The coefficient 0.15 is also in the previous methodology to regulation 16-334/06.04.2007 for heat supply, it is also in the current methodology to regulation E-RD-04-1/12.03.2020, it is also in item 5.1.1. of the rules for share distribution in Ordinance No. 2 of 28.05.2004 on heat supply. And in the Energy and Energy Efficiency Act of 2004 in §69 para.3 it is written “The part of the heat energy given off by the building installation within the meaning of Art. 112c, para. 2, is determined at the rate of 10 percent of the total amount of heat energy for heating the building“. As can be seen, a lower percentage was also proposed.

These documents show that 15% is a real percentage, discussed by many energy specialists, experts, specialists in the Ministry of Energy, even MPs, and has been adopted for 25 years, which gives full reason to use it in calculating the energy from the building installation.


This is the formula. We can assume that if it is adopted, the fish bone stuck in the throat of the Ministry of Energy will be removed.