Public Utility Systems in the Republic of Serbia: Current State and Future Perspectives With Particular Regard to Economic Issues and SDG 6 Targets

Introduction

Utility services encompass numerous services which are important for the realization of the life needs of citizens and legal entities, where the local self-government is obliged to create conditions for ensuring appropriate quality, scope, availability and continuity, as well as supervision over their performance (Negrut et al., 2023). According to Article 2 of the Serbian Law on Utility Services, public utility services involve:

• 1)

  supply of drinking water;

• 2)

  purification and drainage of atmospheric and wastewater;

• 3)

  production, distribution and supply of thermal energy;

• 4)

  municipal waste management;

• 5)

  urban and suburban passenger transport;

• 6)

  management of cemeteries and burials;

  • 6a) funeral services;

• 7)

  management of public parking lots;

• 8)

  provision of public lighting;

• 9)

  management of markets;

• 10)

  maintenance of streets and roads;

• 11)

  maintenance of cleanliness in public areas;

• 12)

  maintenance of public green areas;

• 13)

  chimney services;

• 14)

  zoo-hygiene services.

A utility system is established to satisfy the various utility needs of citizens and other users, thus fulfilling the public interest (Jedynak & Wąsowicz, 2021). It consists of three key components: national regulatory framework, the accountability of the local self-governments, and citizens’ needs (Filipović & Krnjeta, 2017). These components need to be aligned to enable the utility system to function properly. Any disturbances in each of these components lead to the utility system disbalance and cause serious problems in regard to the satisfaction of the public utility needs. This implies that utility companies are only one part of the utility system, which is much more complex (European Commission, 2011). Utility system consists not only of the utility companies (which provide the utility services) and decision makers but also of the unsatisfied utility needs of citizens and other users (Filipović & Krnjeta, 2017).

Hence, the local self-governments are obliged to provide the availability of utility services to their citizens and residents. The local self-government establishes a public company to which it assigns the provision of utility services or assigns it to an entrepreneur in accordance with the law or regulations adopted by the assembly of that local self-government (Voorn et al., 2017). When two or more units of local self-government determine interest in the joint provision of utility services, the city council of each of those local self-government units makes a decision to prepare a justification study for such a decision. The chain of accountability is straightforward and clear. Local self-governments are responsible for organizing and developing utility systems, public utility companies are responsible for providing utility services, and citizens and other service users have an obligation and responsibility to make their contribution to the whole system, primarily through bill payment, but also through other activities which are essential for the entire system and its sustainability (Filipović & Krnjeta, 2017).