Narva officials and energy firms discuss cutting heating costs as residents worry

The heating season has begun in Narva, a city in eastern Estonia, but answers to several key questions are still being sought. Residents hope their bills will not exceed last year's, while the city government and energy companies discuss ways to make heat cheaper. The information was reported by the Russian-language service of ERR, Estonia's public broadcaster, in its "Aktuaalne kaamera +" programme.

What drives the price

In Narva, cheap electricity can mean expensive heating. When it is unprofitable for the power plant to operate, the city switches to gas. The maximum heat price in Narva is almost 138 euros per megawatt-hour before value-added tax. The actual price depends on the source: when unit 11 is running, heat is cheaper.

Pavel Rusheluk, head of the district heating company Narva Soojusvõrk, said the unit is offered to the market every day, but at present the gas boiler house is operating. He hopes that as outdoor temperatures fall, electricity prices will rise and the unit will get onto the market. According to him, the company's costs have not grown, but they are divided across heat consumption.

After the unit was mothballed in 2024, the city switched to gas. The Competition Authority then demanded an urgent search for new heating capacity. The unit was later restarted.

Shale oil as a possible alternative

Raine Pajo, head of Enefit, said half of the gas needed for winter has already been purchased, while the cost of the remainder is not yet known. One way to restrain the price is to replace gas with local shale oil. Technically, the boiler house allows this. Narva mayor Jaan Toots believes the option already exists when gas prices are high. However, a switch requires justifying a risk of supply interruptions or gas shortages; cheaper fuel alone does not grant that right.

Pajo said a permit has been received from the Environmental Board and that the analysis should be completed in about a month. Then it will be possible to say specifically whether oil will be used or gas will continue.

Long-term solution

Narva expects to get cheaper heat from Auvere, but the new heating main is planned to launch only at the end of 2028, so the city must get through two more winters. Toots thinks everything possible has already been done, since the ministry has given its consent.

Residents are worried about costs. Narva resident Yuri said there is no choice and people will have to pay. Dmitri, who recently moved to the city, does not expect bills to fall and hopes only that prices will not rise.