What they will warm on coal, they don't know yet
The city councilors of Velenje listened yesterday how far the first phase of transformation is the district heating systemwhich is the second largest in the country and has been providing more than 12,000 customers since 1959. It now depends entirely on the Šoštanj Thermal Power Plant (TEŠ), which under the intervention law provides thermal energy to the Šalek Valley until April 2027. The system will be renewed by 2028.
The updates of the district heating system, which is 100 % owned by the Velenje and Šoštanj municipalities, have been implemented since 2021, when heat stations began to be renovated. In the first phase of renovation, they will now renovate nearly eight kilometers of network, update nine heat stations and build 65 internal heat supports. The project is estimated at € 24.8 million, most will be funded by the European Fair Transition Fund, and the municipalities will total € 1.2 million.
Head of Investment and Development at the Velenje Municipality Nataša Šket She said that the deadline for pumping funds was 30. June 2029. Last year, they renovated a total of 246 meters of the main hotspaper network, which means that most of them are still waiting for them. Šketova admitted that everything will be a big deal: “This year we should realize € 3.5 million, and in the coming years for another € 5.7 million a year. It all depends on the receipt of the offers and the realization of the work in the field. «
The Velenje People's Initiative sent warnings to several institutions regarding the appointment of the director of the Velenje municipal administration Izto seas and reported suspected irregularities in the payment of work performance allowances and increased workload in the municipality. The municipality of Velenje replied that the call for the post of director of the municipal administration was not necessary, since the law allows direct re -appointment without a public competition. Mori started a new five -year term of office on 1 March.
According to the People's Initiative, Director Iztok Mori received a gross salary of EUR 5914 in October last year, of which EUR 1384 was work performance. The municipality explained that they pay work performance in accordance with the law: « The criteria are as follows: knowledge and professionalism, quality and accuracy, attitude to work and work resources, extent and efficiency of work and innovation. » Peter Dermol He emphasized at yesterday's meeting: “Individuals are burdening the whole of Slovenia due to lack of knowledge of the legislation. It is awkward to me. ”He added that his employees have too low salaries. The City Council then decided that Iztok Mori for 2025 was entitled to regular work performance of five percent of the annual funds for its basic salary.
Šketova said that they intend to renovate the system in Gorizia this year, where they are immediately awaiting a special specific: “It is likely that it will be necessary to remove the avenue that is directly above the hot water network. In the second part, which we start to renovate in the fall, there are more problems. Namely, the owners of the facilities have erected various illegal construction on the municipality land and will have to remove them to the extent of the protected area of the reconstruction of the hot water network. The letters that the owners will receive in the coming days are under preparation. The deadline for removal will be until the end of September. ”She added that the owners were already aware of the field sightseeing, mostly garden, high beams, hedges…
If there is no consensus, there is no reconstruction
Šketova explained that they had planned to restore more, and some multi -dwelling buildings did not obtain all approvals and easement contracts: « Despite repeated calls to obtain easement contracts, which are a prerequisite for co -financing the project, we failed to obtain them. » Peter Dermol He added: “In some places, a smaller part of people with a minority of easement prevented the reconstruction of the internal heat station, although it is in the 100 % domain of the municipality and European funds. So people would not cost anything. But for this reason, some multi -dwelling sections at this stage had to be eliminated. However, the utility, along with the municipality, gained more than 1,500 easements, which means that a lot of work was done. «
Once this reconstruction phase is completed, the annual heat savings are expected to be 21,368 megawatt hours, and carbon dioxide emissions are expected to be reduced by more than 6,000 tonnes a year. But the citizens are worried about the future, as the saint asked Jože Hribar: « It is nice to see that you are renovating the network, but we are more interested in what will happen in 2027 if that heating plant in Šoštanj turn off. » There is no answer to this, but Dermol said that it is the municipality's job to restore the hot water system: « That we can come to the low -temperature regime and have the opportunity to attach alternative green resources to the remote system. »
