Most of the heating in Lithuania (70% in towns and cities) is supplied by heating networks. In the capital, Vilnius (population of 680,000), the network served by two cogeneration plants provides heating for over 580,000 people and 80% of industrial companies. These plants represent the country's primary source of electrical power from cogeneration. Given the fact that the infrastructure is aging, the municipality had to make a strategic choice:

• It could let more and more customers be disconnected and rely only on new buildings to increase subscriber numbers, which would undermine equal access to heating and be harmful to the environment.