Q&A – frequently asked questions and answers

The existing subsidies were provided for in a law in force until the end of June 2025. This law was temporary and the Polish government has not decided to extend it for a further period. Accordingly, the compensation mechanism will cease to apply on 30 June 2025.

Heat charges at full rates, without statutory surcharges, will be calculated from 1 July 2025 and will be included in the invoices you receive in August.

From 1 July 2025, bills will be calculated according to the price lists in force. The difference in the bill for the individual customer will depend, as before, on the heat consumption, while no compensation will be due under the current Act. You will find information about the amount of the subsidy you will receive on your existing bills.

Currently, the company does not operate its own subsidy or discount programmes related to heat prices. If you have difficulties paying your bills, we encourage you to contact our Customer Service Office individually so that we can work together to find possible solutions.

No, the termination of subsidies is solely due to national regulations and decisions made by the Polish government, not the company. As a heat supplier, we are obliged to comply with the current law.

If you do not have an agreement with SEC and you pay for your heating to the Administrator in your rent, please contact the Administrator/Manager or the Tenant Emergency Service in the first instance.
If you have a contract with SEC and you pay your heating charges directly to SEC, you can report heating or hot water supply faults to the Customer Service Office at 91 45099 99, by email at bok@sec.com.pl or to the Heating Emergency Service at 993

Residents must apply to SEC to claim the discount.

In cases provided for in the Energy Act, residents are entitled to discounts in connection with restrictions on heat supply.

A request for a discount for disruption or interruption of heat supply must be submitted in writing to the Customer Service Office.

Discounts are available for restrictions in heat and hot water supply, calculated in accordance with energy law.

Entire buildings are connected to the district heating network. Individual premises cannot be connected directly to the district heating network. If the premises are located in a building that is connected to the district heating network, they can be connected to the building’s internal system and thus benefit from district heating.

Individual billing is only possible in buildings that have a properly designed and constructed internal installation (according to SEC guidelines) and individual billing applies to all premises. In practice, this is the case for newly constructed buildings, where a system based on logotherms is planned at the design stage.

1. Depending on the stage of advancement of the investment, one of the following applications must be submitted:
   request for information on the possibility of connection to the district heating network,
   ensuring heat supply,
   determination of the conditions for connection to the district heating network.
   More information can be found here: link. Conditions, Applications and Attachments – SEC
2. The relevant applications should be submitted well in advance, bearing in mind that the standard process of connection to the district heating network takes a minimum of 12 months from the date of conclusion of the connection agreement, with the reservation that connections are carried out only in such a way that during the so-called heating season, i.e. from the beginning of October to the end of April, the related works do not cause any limitations in heat supply to other Customers.
3. The submitted application should be completed in full, signed and dated, and should include all required attachments. An incomplete or incorrectly completed application will not be processed until it is supplemented. The content of the connection agreement is agreed between the client/investor and SEC after the connection conditions have been issued. The client/investor must hold a legal title to the property on which the connected facility is located. The concluded connection agreement regulates the obligations of the parties and the deadlines for individual works. In justified cases specified in the Energy Law (in the event of a lack of technical and/or economic conditions for connection), SEC may refuse connection to the district heating network. In the event of refusal due to a lack of economic conditions, in the refusal letter SEC will present the client with the amount of the fee, upon payment of which the economic conditions for connection will be met. After the connection has been completed – before the commencement of heat supply – the parties conclude a comprehensive agreement or an agreement for the sale of heat and the provision of transmission services.
4. The content of the connection agreement is agreed between the client/investor and SEC after the connection conditions have been issued. The client/investor must hold a legal title to the property on which the connected facility is located. The concluded connection agreement regulates the obligations of the parties and the deadlines for individual works.
5. In justified cases specified in the Energy Law (in the event of a lack of technical and/or economic conditions for connection), SEC may refuse connection to the district heating network. In the event of refusal due to a lack of economic conditions, in the refusal letter SEC will present the client with the amount of the fee, upon payment of which the economic conditions for connection will be met.
6. after the connection has been completed – before the commencement of heat supply – the parties conclude a comprehensive agreement or an agreement for the sale of heat and the provision of transmission services.

1. Such a need should be reported to the building administrator, who should arrange this operation with SEC.
2. The amount of fees for draining water from the internal central heating installation and refilling it is specified in the price list of “non-tariff rates for additional services” (link to the price list: Price Lists and Tariffs – SEC). These fees are supplemented by the cost of the heat transfer medium (network water) used to refill the installation, calculated according to the prices set out in the Tariff for heat (price of the heat transfer medium).

The owner of the building (e.g. cooperative, housing association, etc.) is responsible for the internal installation of central heating and hot water.

SEC does not supply running water; water from the district heating network is used only to heat mains water. For up-to-date information, please contact ZWiK Szczecin.

Yes, SEC conducts regular inspections in accordance with the guidelines of the State District Sanitary Inspector in Szczecin.

The water in SEC’s district heating system has a very high temperature, which makes the growth of Legionella bacteria impossible. In addition, water from the district heating network is separated from the internal central heating installation in buildings and from domestic hot water systems, and it does not mix with mains water.

Water in the district heating network and water in the internal installation within a building (mains water for central heating and domestic hot water) are two separate and closed circuits. However, if leaks occur in either installation, district heating water and mains water may mix. For this reason, SEC proactively dyes the water in the district heating network in order to monitor potential leaks in these circuits. If you notice that the water in your home is coloured green, report it as soon as possible to the SEC Customer Service Office or to the District Heating Emergency Service at 993.

Bacteria of the Legionella genus develop in water at temperatures between 25°C and 45°C. Their optimal growth occurs in stagnant water at temperatures between 30°C and 37°C. The most favourable conditions for the development of Legionella are humid environments and the presence of limescale deposits, sludge, and corrosion. The bacteria die at a temperature of approximately 70°C.

The items on the invoice include prices and fee rates for heat supplied to heat customers in accordance with the applicable tariff group. A description of the tariff groups is available on our website in the “Heat Price Lists” section.

Paper and electronic invoices are issued on the same date, but e-invoices reach the heat recipient faster.

In accordance with the assigned tariff group, we bill you for both the heat consumed and the readiness to consume it. Therefore, our invoices also include fixed charges that are independent of consumption.

We settle accounts with our customers on a monthly basis and do not carry out settlements in other billing periods.

The payment due date is specified in the agreement and results from applicable legal regulations. If there is a need to change the due date, please contact the Customer Service Office with such a request.

The heat meter records the actual amount of heat consumed, not the flow of hot water. This means that the customer pays only for the amount of heat actually used. If heat was not supplied or consumed for water heating, no charge is applied, or if the water was at a lower temperature, a lower charge will be applied.

The balance of settlements can be confirmed by our Customer Service Office consultants. We encourage you to contact us by phone at +48 91 450 99 99 or by e-mail at bok@sec.com.pl
Information on the account balance as at the date of issue of the settlement is also available on the VAT invoice.

Complaints can be submitted to the Customer Service Office by e-mail to the following address: bok@sec.com.pl or by telephone on 91 450 99 99.

This is regulated by the Energy Law – the commencement and termination of heat supply for heating purposes take place exclusively at the customer’s request.
The building manager, acting on behalf of the Housing Community, or the Housing Cooperative submits a request to SEC to start or stop heat supply.
Important! Customers who use heat all year round do not have to submit such requests – they decide themselves when to turn on their radiators.

In the case of heat substations owned by the customer, the customer independently starts and suspends heat supply. However, it is advisable to notify SEC of such actions in case of unforeseen circumstances.

The procedure is the same as for starting the service – you must report this to the administrator. However, as in the case of starting the service, suspending it will affect all users. It is not possible to disconnect one or more selected premises from the system. The best solution, however, is simply not to use the heating. Then no charges will be incurred.

To use heat throughout the year, please notify the building manager so that they can instruct SEC to set the appropriate temperature thresholds at the heat substation, ensuring that heat is also available after the so-called heating season. This way, you will be able to use it whenever you actually turn it on, for example during cold or rainy days in spring or autumn.

For formal reasons, the Administrator (Housing Cooperative) represents you and is a party to the agreement, and such a decision must be submitted by the customer who is a party to the agreement. In addition, in multi-family buildings with a traditional internal installation (so-called risers), it is not possible to supply heat individually to only one or several selected premises. Most often, using such an option requires the consent of the majority of the building’s residents.

There is no charge for activating the service, and fees are only charged for actual heat consumption, according to the same rules as those applicable during the so-called heating season.

A document prepared by the seller specifying: tariff groups and the amounts of prices and fee rates in accordance with the seller’s “Tariff for Heat”. price list of fees for additional services – a set of prices applied by the seller for additional services not covered by the Tariff for Heat.

Heat substation serving more than one building.

Central heating installation.

Hot water installation.

Interconnected devices or installations used to transport heat or hot water from heat substations or heat sources to heat receivers or hot water consumption points in a building.

An entity or natural person who has signed a contract with SEC for the supply of heat.

Interconnected devices or installations – constituting part of the receiving installation, used for heat distribution in the end user’s premises, powered by the receiving installation from a heat substation or heat source.

A heat source located in the building that directly supplies heating systems exclusively in that building.

Water at a variable temperature, depending on atmospheric conditions, used to transfer thermal energy from the heat source to the consumer and to fill and replenish water losses in consumer installations.

A structure or building together with its receiving installations

Final heat consumer for own consumption

A section of the district heating network supplying heat exclusively to a single heat substation, or a section of external receiving installations behind a group heat substation or heat source, connecting these installations with receiving installations in buildings.

The period during which weather conditions necessitate the continuous supply of heat for the purpose of heating buildings.

Interconnected devices or installations used to transfer and distribute heat from heat sources to heat substations.

The relationship between the temperature of the heat transfer medium and atmospheric conditions, presented by the seller in the form of a table or graph.

A document prepared by the seller specifying: the tariff groups, tariff rates for customer service.

A set of devices, approved for use, in accordance with separate regulations, for measuring the quantity and parameters of the heat transfer medium, whose readings are the basis for calculating the heat supply charges

A comprehensive agreement concluded between the customer and the seller, containing provisions of a heat sale agreement and transmission service agreement.

Interconnected devices or installations used to change the type or parameters of the heat carrier supplied from the connection and to regulate the amount of heat supplied to the receiving installations.

The maximum thermal capacity determined by the customer or the entity applying for connection to the district heating network, which may occur in a given facility under design conditions and which, in accordance with the technical conditions specified in separate regulations and the technological requirements for that facility, is necessary to ensure:

1. 1. coverage of heat losses in order to maintain the normative temperature and air exchange in rooms,

1. 1. maintenance of the normative temperature of domestic hot water at draw-off points,

1. 1. proper operation of other equipment or installations,

design conditions:

1. 1. the design outdoor air temperature specified for the climatic zone in which the facilities supplied with heat are located,

1. 1. the normative temperature of domestic hot water,

design flow rate of the heat transfer medium – the maximum flow rate of the heat transfer medium corresponding, in the case of:

1. 1. a district heating network – the connected thermal capacity and the parameters of the heat transfer medium supplied from the heat source to this network, as specified in the current regulatory table for design conditions,

1. 1. a heat substation – the ordered thermal capacity for the facility or facilities supplied from this heat substation and the parameters of the heat transfer medium supplied to this substation, as specified in the regulatory table for design conditions,

1. 1. a facility supplied from a group heat substation via an external receiving installation operated by the seller – the ordered thermal capacity for the heating needs of this facility and the parameters of the water supplied from the group heat substation to the central heating installation, specified for design conditions on the basis of design data for this installation,

1. 1. a facility constituting an independent unit in a multi-unit building, supplied via an internal receiving installation – the ordered thermal capacity for the heating needs of this facility and the parameters of the water supplied from the heat substation to the internal receiving installation, specified for design conditions on the basis of design data for this installation, provided that the seller is ensured access to operate the internal receiving installation,

Interconnected devices or installations used for heat generation.