New Heating Formula ‘Repeats Old Model’, Ombudsman Says

The draft proposal for a new formula to calculate building installation charges effectively replicates the previous one, Ombudsman Velislava Delcheva has said in an opinion sent to caretaker Energy Minister Trayko Traykov. The draft amendments to the regulation, published for public consultation on 13 March, set out how heating from building installations should be calculated, the Ombudsman’s office said on April 6.

In her position, Delcheva stresses that a fundamental right of district heating customers is to pay for actually measured and recorded consumption in their properties. Under the regulation, the amount of heat energy delivered by the building installation can be directly measured. The Ombudsman maintains that if this is possible, all other methods of determining it should logically be removed.

According to Delcheva, the proposed changes in practice reproduce a formula already struck down by the courts for calculating heat energy from building installations, with only technical adjustments made to its parameters.

“There is a formal change, without genuinely addressing the identified problems,” the opinion states.

She adds that there is no convincing justification for key elements of the formula, including the equalisation of coefficients for different types of internal heating systems, as well as the method used to determine correction values. In her view, this raises doubts about the accuracy and fairness of cost distribution among consumers.

The Ombudsman also says the draft fails to sufficiently account for the impact of energy efficiency measures on actual consumption.

A positive step is the proposed obligation to provide monthly information to consumers on the parameters used in calculations. However, she notes that this does not compensate for the fundamental shortcomings of the proposal.

The opinion also calls for amendments to provisions that currently allow, but do not require, heat distribution companies to reduce capacity when buildings improve their energy efficiency. According to the Ombudsman, this measure should be made mandatory in the interest of citizens.

In conclusion, Delcheva underlines that while changes are necessary, they remain insufficient and do not meet expectations for genuine consumer protection, including in light of the case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union.

Ombudsman Velislava Delcheva Asks for Urgent Measures for the Calculation of the Heat Emitted by Building Installation in Condominium Buildings