More legal obligations are only talked about when the limit date for their fulfillment is getting closer. This situation also applies to the mandatory replacement of measuring devices in blocks for models with remote reading. Experts of the RynekPierwotny.pl portal described this obligation over four years ago (even at the stage of government plans). The years have passed, and the border date for the replacement of measuring devices is approaching, so it is worth recalling what the legal grounds for this obligation are.
An interesting issue is also the answer to the question of who (at least formally) should cover the cost of exchange. This is a complement to the topic, which on Bankier.pl was analyzed in 2019.
What exactly the recipes say about the exchange?
The issue of financing the replacement of measuring devices, after all, seems less important than the legal grounds for such an obligation. It is worth recalling these foundations – the more that there are sometimes great simplifications in the media. The Act of 20 April 2021 amending the Act on energy efficiency and some other acts (Journal of Laws 2021 item 868) is of key importance in the context of the obligation to exchange measuring devices.
This amendment has introduced to the Energy Law provisions (Article 45a (7a (7)), which order the equipment of buildings with a water heating installation from the heating network and buildings with more than one apartment or commercial premises (heated from the boiler room) in the following devices for the sealing heat:
- A heat meter with remote reading function for measuring the amount of heat supplied to the heating system of the building;
- Heating meters or heating costs allocators with a remote reading function and enabling individual settlement of heating costs of individual housing or commercial premises in the building (if it is technically feasible and profitable);
- Water meters having a remote reading function for measuring hot water for individual apartments or commercial premises in the building (if it is technically feasible and profitable);
- A device for measuring the amount of fuel used in the boiler room.
Article 16 of the Act of 20 April 2021 indicates that the owner or manager of the existing multi -leaved building by January 1, 2027 should replace older heat meters, heating costs and water meters for measuring hot utility water (mounted before May 22, 2021) devices with remote reading function.
Pursuant to the Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council (EU) 2018/2002, from October 25, 2020, newly installed meters and heating, cooling and hot utility water allocators should allow remote reading. It does not seem reasonable that the described replacement obligation (until January 1, 2027) includes efficient devices mounted before May 22, 2021 and having a remote reading function. The requirements for periodic legalization are a separate issue.
However, there is a “gate” in the regulations
It is worth noting that the Energy Law added to the Energy Law added to the Energy Law added to May 22, 2021 also obliges single -family home owners heated with network heat to install heating meters with a remote reading function on the border of delivery. However, the obligation to exchange by January 1, 2027 of measuring devices for models with a remote reading function includes
only owners and managers of multi -leaved buildings.
This is not the only “gate” in the rules. Well, the described obligation to replace heat meters, allocators and water meters from individual premises (see points 2 and 3 above) does not apply to situations in which such operation is not technically feasible or profitable. The ordinance of the Minister of the Climate and the Environment of December 7, 2021 (Journal of Laws 2021 item 2273) indicates when one can talk about the lack of technical enforceability or profitability of replacement of measuring devices. One of the premises for abandoning heat meters for devices with a remote reading is not to help heaters from flats in thermostatic heads.
Exchange cost, i.e. a fairly sensitive topic
In 2021, the costs of replacing measuring devices for models with remote reading were estimated as approx. PLN 320 million to 2027. Of course, older measuring devices (without remote reading) sooner or later would require replacement. However, it can be assumed that the authorities of some housing communities and cooperatives will try to finance the replacement of measuring devices from the renovation fund (thus avoiding additional fees from block residents). In relation to private premises, however, this is a variant that can be questioned by the court – especially if some apartments have their own heating installation (see: judgment of the Court of Appeal in Katowice of 28 August 2014 – I ACa 379/14).
Doubts are also raised by the exchange of measuring devices located behind the shut -off valve (from the apartment side) financed from the renovation fund. Much, however, depends, for example, whether the community adopted a resolution on the recognition of measuring devices as part of the common property. It is also possible to adopt a resolution decomposing the costs of replacement of measuring devices (incurred by the owners of the premises) for smaller monthly payments.
