economy
February 8, 2026
Heating bills are rising, will everyone be able to pay them?
Due to a significant price increase, heating bills are becoming an increasing burden, and poorer households have to spend between 15 and 22 percent of their available income to pay them, while according to official statistics, every tenth household cannot afford a warm home.
TL;DR
- Heating bills in Serbia are no longer just a utility issue but a macroeconomic factor affecting household stability.
- Rising prices of gas and fuel oil are forcing heating systems to strictly apply pricing methodologies, making bills unpredictable for end-users.
- A new model of billing based on consumption (kWh) is expanding, aiming to cover 60% of heating surfaces by the end of 2026, but it increases costs for residents in older, poorly insulated buildings.
- The heating system is structurally dependent on natural gas (over 75% of the energy mix), making it vulnerable to price fluctuations.
- Total debt of heating plants reached four billion dinars by the end of 2024, with 29 plants operating at a loss.
- Transmission losses in some systems exceed 15%, meaning a significant portion of paid energy never reaches the end-user.
- In 2025, Serbia imported 1,885 GWh of electricity, 3.3 times more than in 2024, costing 117 million euros.
- Heating costs can consume 15-22% of the disposable income for lower and middle-income households.
- Energy poverty is becoming a structural problem, affecting even those with incomes around the median salary.
- Technological modernization, reducing network losses, and diversifying energy sources require significant capital investments.
- Short-term solutions involve budget transfers to affected households, while long-term solutions include aggressive energy mix diversification and reducing transmission losses.
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