We are publicizing the matter at the request of Mr. Józef, our Reader. “In July, heat allocators are to be abolished in buildings administered by Bolesławianka Housing Cooperative. I am opposed to this,” the man says indignantly. “In my staircase, at least 60% of the people disagree with this idea.”

The decision to abolish the allocators was made during the general meeting held last November. “At that meeting, I got the impression that the cooperative’s authorities were fed up with people’s complaints: one person comes and complains that they have to heat a lot and pay extra for heating, while another does the same and receives a refund,” Mr. Józef says. “In my opinion, the cooperative made this decision only to have some peace.”

According to our Reader, from July Bolesławianka Housing Cooperative residents will no longer be able to save on heating. Apartments without allocators will be settled according to their floor area. “It will be like under communism. Turning down my radiator will have no measurable effect. After all, I will not know what my neighbors are doing; whether, perhaps, they will turn their radiators all the way up,” the man says angrily. “Until now, I lived with the level of thermal comfort that suited me. I received refunds. From July, everything will be different.”

Mr. Józef is surprised that Bolesławianka wants to abolish the allocators while other cooperatives are installing meters that measure “everything that can be measured.”

“The settlement of heat consumption using heat cost allocators was introduced by a resolution of the Representatives’ Assembly in 1996, and therefore by a decision of the cooperative’s members, not its management board or supervisory board. The issue of allocators has returned at every members’ meeting for more than a dozen years,” emphasizes Piotr Hetel, president of Bolesławianka Housing Cooperative. “At the last general meeting, three solutions for settling heating costs were put up for discussion. Most people voted specifically for abolishing the allocators. What is more, every cooperative member is individually notified both of the date and agenda of the general meeting and of the opportunity to review the documents. No one can say they were not notified.”

According to the head of Bolesławianka, introducing a new method for settling heating costs does not mean that residents will be unable to save: “A similar solution was introduced in Gryfów. And there, according to the information obtained, heat consumption decreased. Why? Because the apartments are heated more or less evenly. There are no spikes in heat consumption. People keep an eye on one another.”

These arguments do not convince our Reader. “I will not allow the heat allocators to be abolished,” Mr. Józef says emphatically, announcing that he will collect signatures for a protest against this solution. “Our cooperative is us, not the president,” he adds.

We will return to this matter.

(information ii)