Bucharest heating failures leave 29% of owners' associations without proper hot water

Most associations back on heat, but 29% remain short

Termoenergetica said on Monday, 2 November, that 71% of Bucharest's owners' associations now receive hot water and heating at appropriate parameters, while the remaining 29% do not. The company began supplying heating for the season on 16 October, once outdoor temperatures met the conditions for starting. Some associations chose to delay heating by closing the supply valves at the base of their buildings, the company said. It tied the shortfall to the current state of the city's heat production capacity.

“In the current situation, 71% of owners' associations have hot water and heating at appropriate parameters, while the remaining 29% do not.”

Four plants, and one offline for repairs

Four ELCEN electrothermal plants, which belong to the Ministry of Energy, supply the capital: Bucharest South, Bucharest West, Grozăvești and Progresu. Bucharest West, which serves Sector 6, remains shut down for repairs after two breakdowns that caused fires in spring 2026. Its restart is scheduled for November 2026. ELCEN is carrying out the technical steps needed to restart Progresu, which serves Sector 4 and much of Sector 5, in coordination with Termoenergetica. The company linked the restart to the completion of heating network modernization work financed from EU funds through the POIM programme, which it said should improve the efficiency of the system.

With proper parameters71%

Without proper parameters29%

With proper parameters

71 %

Without proper parameters

29 %

Data from the article text

Plants still running fall short of the required parameters

The plants that are operating cannot deliver the required parameters everywhere. At Bucharest South, which serves Sectors 2 and 3 and part of Sector 4, the temperature of the heat delivered did not reach the level requested in the order note sent to the plant, which specified the required flow, pressure and temperature. Termoenergetica said that once Progresu restarts, its share of the heat load will return to its own service area, which should improve the performance of Bucharest South. Grozăvești, which serves Sectors 1, 5 and 6, cannot supply the heat and hydraulic load it currently carries, so it cannot adequately supply all three sectors.

Network breakdowns reach thousands of homes

Libertatea, citing Buletin de București, reported that the heating system is running at 67% of its capacity and that nearly 3,000 buildings are feeling the effects of serious breakdowns and the lack of hot water and heat. The causes combine pressure balancing and adjustment work at the main plants with a series of simultaneous breakdowns on old main pipes. Supply and return pipes in the affected areas cannot hold the required delivery temperature, so tap water runs cold while radiators stay cold. Sector 4 has 1,198 affected buildings and Sector 6 has 1,358 buildings without hot water. Repair crews are redirecting heat to adjacent circuits, but heavy pressure losses prevent contractual parameters from being restored at end consumers.

Sector 41,198

Sector 61,358

Sector 4

1198 buildings

Sector 6

1358 buildings

Data from the article text

Repair timeline and what comes next

Termoenergetica expects most of the problems to be fixed during 2 November. Some buildings, however, will remain without hot water until 3 November, according to the same company. Restoring normal supply for hundreds of thousands of residents depends on finishing hydraulic adjustments at the plants and welding cracked underground pipe sections. The restart of Progresu and the return of Bucharest West in November are the next steps the company has announced for the network.