It's July, the radiators are cold, and yet there's a "heating" line on your utility bill. Where it comes from and what to do about it depends on your region, your meter and how your building's management company does its sums.

Every summer, the same question pops up on social media and housing forums: "Why am I paying for heating when the radiators are off?" It feels as if someone has made a mistake or, worse, is cheating you. In reality, it's simpler, and duller, than that.

In most cases it's not a mistake but a feature of the billing method your region has chosen. But since 2025 the rules have started to change: no new regions will introduce "summer" heating charges.

Two Ways to Pay for Heat

There are two ways of calculating heating charges in Russia. Both are set out in Rules No. 354, the government resolution of May 6, 2011, that governs utility billing.

  • The first is paying during the heating season. You only pay while the radiators are on. In summer, there's no "heating" line on your bill. The amount is calculated from the readings of the building's communal heat meter or, if there's no meter, according to a standard consumption rate.

  • The second is spreading the payment evenly across the whole year. The annual heating bill is divided into 12 months, and you pay the same amount every month, in the January frost and the July heat alike. That's where the "summer" line comes from: you're not overpaying, just settling your winter bill in instalments.

Which method applies to you is decided by the regional authorities (and the decision can cover either the whole region or individual municipalities). Residents of an apartment block can't choose at a general meeting.

Why Pay All Year Round in the First Place?

The logic of spreading payments evenly is to smooth out the winter peak. In central Russia, the heating season lasts about seven months. If the whole annual amount were divided across those months alone, winter bills would rise noticeably.

Take an example from Samara, where the even-payment system still applies: the owner of a 56.8 m² flat pays around 2,700 roubles a month all year round. If the region switched to seasonal billing, at the same tariff the payment would rise to about 4,600 roubles, but only in the heating months, and drop to zero in summer. (This is an illustrative calculation; check current tariffs with your management company.)

For families on a tight budget, the predictability of 12 identical payments is easier to manage than sudden jumps. But this system has a serious downside: the annual adjustment.

The Adjustment: A Nasty Surprise on Your Bill

Under the even-payment system, charges are based on the previous year's consumption. But every winter is different: one mild, the next freezing. So once a year, the management company or heat supplier compares how much heat the building actually used with how much residents have already paid.

If the winter was colder, you get an extra charge. If it was warmer, you get a refund (shown on your bill as an "adjustment" line with a minus sign). This adjustment usually arrives in the first quarter of the following year and can come as a shock: after an unusually cold winter, the difference can run to several thousand roubles.

The adjustment is the main source of disputes and discontent. People get used to one amount, and then suddenly a bill arrives that's half as much again. Working out where the figure came from is tricky without an accountancy qualification.

What Changed on March 1, 2025

The government adopted amendments to Rules No. 354 that came into force on March 1, 2025. In short:

  • Regions that have already switched to paying for actual use (only during the heating season) can't switch back to the even-payment system.

  • No one can switch to even payments any more. But where the system already applies, it can be kept: the law doesn't require anyone to abandon it.

  • If a region does switch to seasonal billing, residents must be warned at least three months in advance, and the management company settles the adjustment for past payments straight away (it may be split over several months of the heating season) rather than putting it off until the following year.

  • The Construction Ministry calls payment during the heating season the preferred option: it's more transparent and avoids confusion over annual adjustments.

In practice, this means the even-payment system has been frozen: no new regions will adopt it. But there's no mass move away from it either: many regions, including the Samara region, have kept the one-twelfth system, so summer "heating" lines won't be disappearing any time soon.

How Payment Works in Moscow

Moscow is a special case. Since 2024, heating charges in most apartment blocks have been calculated from average monthly consumption over the previous five years and spread evenly across all 12 months. The exception is buildings that had already switched to paying for actual consumption.

That means most Muscovites pay for heating all year round, summer included. On the plus side, the capital no longer has a "13th bill": if the winter is colder than usual, the adjustment is spread over the 12 months of the following year, and the overall increase in heating charges is capped at 15%. After a mild winter, payments come down just as gradually.

The 2025 amendments don't abolish this system: Moscow has kept the right to set its own billing procedure.

How the Weather Affects Your Payment

In Russia, the heating season starts and ends not by the calendar but by the thermometer. Rules No. 354 set the criterion: the heating season must begin no later than the day after five consecutive days with an average daily temperature below 8°C, and end no earlier than after five days above 8°C. In a sharp cold snap, local authorities can switch the heating on earlier.

The length of the heating season depends on that year's weather:

  • A mild winter: a shorter season, less heat used by the building, a lower bill.

  • A long, freezing winter: a longer season, more heat used, a higher bill.

  • An unusually warm autumn: the start of the heating season can be pushed back by several weeks, leaving the radiators cold in October.

In regions with a sharply continental climate, such as Siberia and the Urals, the heating season lasts eight to nine months, sometimes longer. In the south, it's five to six months. That's why there's no universal "normal" heating bill: it all depends on where you live and what the winter was like.

What You Can Do Right Now

Check how your region calculates heating charges. If there's a "heating" line on your bill in July, you're most likely on the even-payment system. You can confirm the method with your management company or on the website of your regional tariff authority. It can't be changed for a single flat or building.

Make sure your building has a communal heat meter. Without one, you're charged according to the standard rate, which doesn't reflect the building's actual condition and may turn out higher than real consumption.

With a meter, the building pays for the heat it actually uses, which, according to State Duma deputy Nikita Chaplin, is exactly what the new rules are aimed at.

Keep an eye on the adjustment. If your region uses the even-payment system, an adjustment will appear on your bill once a year. It's not a mistake, but it's worth checking the figures against the communal meter readings. If in doubt, the management company is obliged to provide a breakdown.

Don't confuse heating with hot water. A line for "heating hot water" or "heat energy for hot water" is a separate service that's charged all year round in every region, because hot water is supplied in summer too (except during scheduled summer shutdowns, for which charges are recalculated). It has nothing to do with the heating season.