January heating bills in Vilnius will be 5% to 10% higher than in record-breaking December, according to Vilnius Heating Networks (Vilniaus Silumos Tinklai, VST), heating and hot water provider of the Lithuanian capital.
Vilnius residents already paid record sums for heating in December 2021 when prices more than doubled compared to a year before.
The National Energy Regulatory Council predicted that heating bills would climb by another 20% in January.
But because the first month of this year was almost three degrees warmer than December 2021, heating bills will be only 5% to 10% higher.
“This January was warmer than last year when we supplied a record amount of heating. It was also 2.4 degrees warmer compared to December 2021, which means we had to supply less heat and burn less fuel to produce it,” said Laurynas Jokubauskas, head of VST Customer Service Department.
“But as the heating season got underway, the price of fuel kept rising, which was reflected in the heating price that was 15% higher in January compared to December 2021,” he added.
Because of rising prices, more people became entitled to heating and hot water compensations for this season. In January alone, 11,972 compensation applications were submitted to the Social Benefits Department of Vilnius City Municipality, compared to 3,456 in the same period last year.
Vilnius residents who cannot afford high heating bills can also ask VST to delay part of the payment.
“Over 100 customers have already made use of the deferred payment option. Even residents who receive compensation can apply for it,” Jokubauskas said. (LRT/Business World Magazine)
