2024-07-15 16:45:28
“The increased heat prices of Kaunas energy for the city of Kaunas are a cause for concern. According to the attached file of the VERT page, it can be seen that heat prices in July became the highest among the big cities of Lithuania, which has never happened before. For now, this heat will only be used for heating hot water, but once the heating season starts, according to this pricing, it is clear that Kaunas will have the highest heat price in Lithuania.
It is also worrisome that Kaunas consumes the most dirty fossil fuel, i.e. gas, for the production of heat for hot water, compared to other cities (on the same VERT page). What happened that according to the price of heat and according to the type of fuel we are in the worst position compared to other Lithuanian cities? What to expect as the heating season approaches? Maybe Kaunas energija could explain the situation and comment on the future prices of the heating season?” asked a concerned reader.
July. the average price of centrally supplied heat in Lithuania is 6.13 ct/kWh (without VAT) – the State Energy Regulatory Council (VERT) announces. Compared to June, the price per kilowatt hour increases by 1.83 percent. In Vilnius and Panevėžys, the price per kilowatt hour is 5.65 ct/kWh, while in Klaipėda it is 5.57 ct/kWh. The people of Šiauliai can boast the cheapest price – the price of heat supplied by “Šiaulių enerjija” in July is 5.39 ct/kWh.
More on this topic City of Kaunas After VAT benefits have ceased to be valid, centrally supplied heat and hot water are more expensive for residents Kauno energija looks at the situation positively
“The heat price in Kaunas is, as usual, one of the lowest in the country. In July, Kaunas residents, like residents of other large Lithuanian cities, pay less than 6 ct/kWh – 5.81 ct/kWh for city heat supplied to produce hot water.
It should be noted that the difference in heat prices between the four largest cities is only about 0.2 ct/kWh. The biggest influence on the price of heat is fuel prices and components of the price of heat purchased at the auction. The price of each month’s heat depends on these ingredients,” commented Šarūnas Bulota, head of the marketing and communication department of Kauno Energija, to the news portal “What’s happening in Kaunas”.
According to the company representative, about 90 percent the heat supplied in Kaunas is produced from renewable energy sources – biofuel and waste. During the warm period of the year, the majority of the heat needed to produce hot water is supplied by an independent heat producer – the Kaunas cogeneration power plant, which burns waste.
The company notes that they have been implementing a consistent and effective strategy for reducing fossil fuel and CO2 emissions for more than a decade. The first works were the modernization of the largest gas power plants and boiler houses in Kaunas, the installation of new capacities for heat production from biofuel at the Petrašiūnai power plant, “Šilko” and “Inkar” boiler houses.
“When biofuel became the main source of heat production, the use of gas in the overall balance of energy resources used for heat production in the city of Kaunas decreased to 10 percent. Gas use is further reduced in 2022. after implementing the expansion of the heating network to Aleksotas, Sargėnis and this year implementing the network expansion to Panemunė.
After the completion of the mentioned projects, gas consumption in the overall balance of energy resources used for heat production in the city of Kaunas will decrease to 5 percent. The company’s long-term strategic goal is to completely abandon natural gas for heat production, supplying consumers with green heat,” the representative of Kauno Energija shared the goals.
AB “Kauno energija” is managed by the general director Tomas Garasimavičius, who was appointed to this position by the company’s board in March 2020. The largest (not in terms of number of employees, but in terms of managed assets and generated income) of the companies subordinate to the city municipality has not had a permanent manager for more than a year. Because Rimantas Bakas, who worked as the general director of this company for ten years, resigned in December 2018.
Before becoming the head of Kaunas Energija, T. Garasimavičius advised Kaunas City Mayor Visvaldas Matijošaitis on energy issues.
In February 2020, Mayor V. Matijošaitis, along with three other members of the Kaunas City Municipal Council from the ruling majority (representatives of the non-partisan organization Vieningas Kaunas) resigned from the Supervisory Board of Kaunas Energija.
During the last five years, the heat supplied by this company was the least expensive for consumers in 2019.
2024-07-15 16:45:28