With gas prices skyrocketing, Lithuanian cities – in particular Vilnius – are desperately looking for ways to cut heating bills. Among the suggestions is burning mazut, a low quality and very polluting fuel oil, which has drawn criticism from environmentalists and politicians.
Lithuania’s major cities assure that they can cope with the energy challenges and will not run out of heat. Biofuels will help some of them. Klaipedos Energija, the municipal energy company of Lithuania’s third-biggest city Klaipeda, claims that heat supply is diversified enough, with mazut to be used to make up for any shortfall. Klaipedos Energija has secured a permission to burn about 3,000 tons of this fuel oil.
“Mazut is a polluting fuel and we try and will try not to use it. That is why in the upcoming heating season we are planning to make do with biofuel and a public procurement is being carried out to buy the amount of gas that would be needed to supply heat to consumers,” says Arunas Liubinavicius, a spokesman for Klaipedos Energija.
Vilnius also wants to ensure cheaper heat for its residents by using biofuel. However, the capital city will not be able to convert its plants in time. Plans to start earlier were thwarted by the bankruptcy of the Polish company that was supposed to carry out the conversion work. Meanwhile, the new contractors from Finland will not finish before March.
“It is a very difficult situation for another company to come in and start construction when something has been installed and something has not been installed,” says Energy Minister Dainius Kreivys.
On July 20, the government moved to rescue municipalities, in particular Vilnius, by allowing heat supply companies to buy mazut and diesel through open negotiations.
“If we decide to use mazut, it would, of course, be a temporary measure, albeit a polluting one, but essentially designed to survive the coming heating season,” says Vilnius Deputy Mayor Valdas Benkunskas. “Today, looking at the price of gas and the price of mazut, the latter is at least 45% cheaper.”
The Environment Ministry is less optimistic. According to Minister Simonas Gentvilas, lower costs should be weighed against harm to the environment and people’s health.
However, the Environment Ministry gave a reluctant go-ahead for burning mazut this coming winter.
“No joy here,” Gentvilas commented.
According to the Environment Ministry, Vilnius will have to pay around 24 million euros in pollution taxes for using mazut.
“This is Vilnius’ problem and a price for not implementing solutions in time,” said Gentvilas.
Some have suggested that, instead of burning the highly polluting fuel, the government could offset higher heating costs for households with targeted subsidies. But Energy Minister Dainius Kreivys dismisses such measures as “unfair”.
“Compensation comes out of all our pockets. Yours, mine, education, social security,” according to Kreivys.
MP Arvydas Nekrosius, a member of the parliamentary Commission on Energy and Sustainable Development, is also sceptical about burning mazut for heat.
“The search for alternative sources, such as mazut, seems very drastic and not entirely justified. Fuel oil is also likely to become more expensive, as all energy resources are going up in prices, so such a choice is rather strange,” he says.
Vilnius municipality has not yet made the final decision, but it has precious few options: either expensive gas heating – and public dissatisfaction – or burning cheap but polluting fuel. (LRT/Business World Magazine)
