Keeping Warm in Bitola: Four Tonnes of Pellets for Up to 88,000 Denars, While the Municipality Set Aside 3 Million for Inverter ACs

The seasonal forecasts from Europe's Copernicus service say the winter of 2026/2027 will be warmer than average across most of Europe. For Bitola that doesn't mean much: cold snaps, snow and ice can still come this year, and the firewood has to be bought before they do.

So what does it cost? A house of around 60 square metres needs roughly eight to ten cubic metres of wood for one heating season. Through the state forestry company "National Forests", that comes to 25,000 to 32,000 denars, without transport. From private sellers, with delivery, it's 36,000 to 45,000 denars. Pellets range from 14,500 to 22,000 denars per tonne, which means up to 88,000 denars for four tonnes - before delivery and system maintenance.

Most people heat only the rooms they actually use. Energy poverty is not just being unable to pay the bill; it is living in a home that is never warm enough. In Pelagonia, as in most of the country, firewood dominates, even though experts point to inverter heating as the most cost-effective option.

And what is the municipality doing? In its 2026 Environmental Programme, the Municipality of Bitola has budgeted four million denars for energy efficiency: three million for inverter air conditioners and one million for energy-efficient joinery, windows and doors. The whole environmental programme is worth 11.5 million denars. The municipal energy plan for 2026 also lists energy poverty as a topic.

The topic is on paper. But how many people actually got an air conditioner, how many windows were replaced, and are the subsidised units even being used? With state subsidies, as experts warn, nobody checks how - or how much - the purchased devices are used. And without those numbers, four million denars remain a line item in a programme, not a warmer room in February.