Belgrade Heating Price Stays Put, Nis Up 4.5%

Heating in Belgrade stays at the old price from October 1, while in Nis the fixed charge goes up from 42.74 to 49.44 dinars per square meter (~0.42 EUR). The Belgrade utility Beogradske elektrane did not receive consent from its founder, the City of Belgrade, for an average increase of 9%, while the Nis City Council approved an average of 4.5%.

The director of the public utility Beogradske elektrane, Vanja Vukic, confirmed to RTS on September 29 that there is no consent, and explained what that means for the coming month:

“If the founder does not approve by October 1, that is, does not give consent to the requested price, heating will not get more expensive from November 1 either, and that will hold in the future, for every month”

According to Vukic, the founder must decide on a price change a month before it takes effect, so there will be no increase on October 1.

What did Beogradske elektrane ask for?

The request was sent to the City on August 27, and under a government decree heating plants must submit their proposal to the founder by September 1. The proposal moved in two directions. The fixed part of the price, which covers material costs and employee salaries, would have risen by 18% (Novosti reports 18.02%), while the variable part, which makes up sixty percent of the heating price, would have fallen by about 6% (5.57% according to Novosti).

For customers billed by heated area and installed capacity, the proposal meant an increase of 9.44% for residential space: from 1,679.35 to 1,837.89 dinars per square meter per year, excluding VAT (~14.4 EUR and ~15.7 EUR). For commercial space, an increase of 9.51% was proposed, and hot water would have become 10% more expensive. Vukic summed up the average this way:

“On average, our proposal was for the price of heating to go up by nine percent, which of course was not accepted”

What happens on October 1 if radiators stay cold?

Functional tests begin on Thursday, October 1, and they do not mean the radiators will be warm. Vukic explained what is checked: “We essentially check whether the system works, we raise the pressure, we let our pumps run, we look at the boilers and so on.”

The first tests are at the Konjarnik heating plant, the plant in Mladenovac and the boiler house that heats the Narodni front Gynecology and Obstetrics Clinic. Over the next fifteen days they will cover all 15 heating plants and 16 boiler houses. The system supplies about 380,000 buildings and roughly a million people. Residents who notice leaks on their radiators should contact Beogradske elektrane, and Vukic attributes the sound of water in pipes in recent days to the final stage of the overhaul, since the system is always kept full to prevent corrosion.

By law the heating season starts on October 15. Last year heating was switched on October 2, without tests, while this time, according to Vukic, hydrometeorologists do not expect a start before October 15. If the temperature does drop, he said, the system is ready: “Should certain changes occur, we will immediately heat the apartments of all Belgraders who are on our system.”

Why does Nis pay more?

The Nis City Council approved the decision of the public utility Gradska toplana for the 2026/2027 season, and the new prices apply from October 1 at the latest. The variable part rises to 7.19 dinars per kilowatt-hour from 7.15 (~0.06 EUR), an increase of about 0.6%. The fixed part rises by 6.70 dinars, or about 15.7%. The heating plant cites the market price of energy and the level of the minimum wage as reasons.

Sources differ on the old price of the variable part. Resetka and Novosti give 7.15 dinars, while Niske vesti gives 7.12. In the same article, Niske vesti describes the difference: 7.12 dinars applied at the start of last season, in April the variable part was raised to 7.57 dinars because of rising gas prices, and in May it was lowered to 7.15 after energy prices fell. So 7.15 is the price that applied right before the new decision. In April the City Council approved a 6.38% increase for the variable part.

In the rationale for its proposal, the heating plant listed consumption from the previous business year:

• more than 1.5 billion kilowatt-hours of natural gas
• about 64.2 million kilograms of heating oil and more than 11.3 million kilograms of fuel oil
• more than 110 million kilowatt-hours of electricity and over 3.2 million cubic meters of water
• 456.5 million dinars for salaries (~3.9 million EUR) and 68.4 million dinars for taxes and contributions (~0.58 million EUR)

How do other cities compare?

According to Novosti, heating plants in seven cities have submitted requests for increases, and so far a price rise has been confirmed only in Nis. Nikola Jovanovic of the Center for Local Self-Government told N1 that seven of Serbia’s 60 heating plants asked for a rise. In his view, the Belgrade request remains unapproved for political reasons:

“According to our information, there will be no price increase for purely political reasons, and that request has not entered the procedure.”

Jovanovic added that citizens will pay for “small concessions” after October 25 and concluded: “In this case we will be spared a price increase because of election tactics. The problem is not solved, just pushed under the rug.” In Vukic’s statements reported by N1 and Kurir, the lack of consent is not linked to elections, but to the deadline and the founder’s decision.

The situation elsewhere, according to data reported by Novosti:

• Subotica, Krusevac and Zrenjanin enter the season without a price rise, and in Zrenjanin the price has not changed since 2023.
• Majdanpek will not pass on to users a woodchip price increase of about 10%, and the local government covers the difference with subsidies.
• Stara Pazova is waiting for the municipality’s decision on a request the heating plant submitted on August 31.
• Velika Plana is waiting for a decision on a request submitted on September 1.

For Belgrade, this means the price list stays the same, and the first system checks begin on Thursday. The new heating plant in Surcin, which both heats and cools, begins operating on October 15, according to Vukic, when the first residents of the Expo village are expected.