Between October and December 2021 the amount of money owed by clients of Riga municipality’s JSC Rigas siltums for the heating energy supplied this season was slightly above EUR 15 million. Payments collected accounted for 82% of all issued heating service receipts, as reported by Rigas siltums representative Linda Rence.
She said clients’ payment discipline had not worsened too much. Rence also said the situation with payments and clients’ debts changed almost every day.
“We are grateful to clients who pay for services on time. We understand that the situation is not simple for anyone at the moment – energy prices are up everywhere. We have done what we can to maintain tariffs – procurements, diversification of fuels, reconstruction of old and inefficient heating networks,” explained Rence, adding that the green course was maintained and 50% of heating energy was produced using renewable energy resources.
Rigas siltums also has plans in the works to help stabilize the heating energy price and help prices become sustainable.
Rence explained that Rigas siltums produced only 30% of the heating energy in Riga. This is the volume the production of which the company is able to influence. 70% of heating energy is procured from independent heating energy producers, in which JSC Latvenergo is the biggest producer with 70% and other independent producers account for 30% of this energy volume.
The company’s representative also said that Rigas siltums had borrowed EUR 29 million in short-term loans to be able to pay energy producers for the fuel and heating energy supplied.
In the previous financial year (October 1, 2019 – September 30, 2020) Rigas siltums’ turnover was EUR 151.874 million, up by 2.1% YoY. The company’s profit increased 11.6-fold, to EUR 15.6 million.
49% of the company’s capital is owned by Riga City Council, 48.99% by Latvian state, 2% – by LLC Energijas risinajumi and JSC Latvenergo owns 0.005% of shares. (BNN/Business World Magazine)
