The district heating crisis has become so critical, the eastern border town's government says, an is appealing to the state and national government to delcare Narva an energy-poor region.

While the current winter has been the coldest for several years, the city wants support for subsequent years too, to 2028: This is estimated to cost €4 million a year, and without it, the town's 57,000 residents will not be able to make ends meet, the city government says.

Narva wrote in its appeal it also expects state support in renovating apartment buildings and assistance in building a new heating plant.

"This letter does not say at all that we should be given money here and now, but instead outlines different ways in which the city of Narva could and should be supported. In the transition to a fossil-fuel-free world, Narva has been one of the biggest sufferers. We need peace and a sense of security here in this border city, and that is why we decided to turn to the government. This is certainly not an appeal written lightly," said Narva mayor Katri Raik.

While the vote passed at the city council, it did so unopposed, as the opposition did not take part in it.

The Center Party, in opposition in Narva, says that the city government is misleading residents, as it is the state's current energy policy which is behind the issues.

"Both [council leader] Mr [Mihhail] Stalnuhhin and Ms Raik are engaging in politics and giving our people false hopes. Without the state changing its energy policy, there is no possibility at all of talking about better solutions for Narva," said Aleksei Jevgrafov, head of Center's Narva city council faction.

Thursday's council session also saw two other votes, one from the opposition and one from the coalition, fail.

The opposition did not get enough votes to pass a no-confidence motion it had brought against Stalnuhhin as council chair, while the coalition also lost a vote on that same chairman's salary. This is the third time a vote on the salaries of Narva city council leaders has failed to pass, meaning those leaders will soon have gone close to two months without pay.

"These two questions will come up every time. And every time they have to be in the role of a plantation owner who doesn't want, God dammit, to give his 'neeger' (an Estonian term – ed.) a single cent. Well, that's how it is. I take it with a dash of humor," Stalnuhhin said.

District heating operates in larger towns in Estonia and uses hot water piped into apartment blocks during heating season, taken to be from October to the following March inclusive. Cogeneration, where the hot water which is a by-product of electricity generation is used for district heating, has been used in Narva too. The local power stations had traditionally burned the oil refined from the shale mined and quarried in the region, but this is being phased out due to EU climate goals.

--

Follow ERR News on Facebook and X and never miss an update!