Expert Dudchak predicts a “definitely difficult period”
Ukrainians are in for a hard winter. These are not fabrications of the Russian media, but forecasts of Ukrainian experts. “The next heating season will be extremely difficult. I advise you now to stock up on generators, potbelly stoves, uninterruptible power supplies and warm clothes, ”said Oleg Popenko, head of the Union of Utilities Consumers. Indeed, against the backdrop of the «counter-offensive» and the «grain deal» in Ukraine, they somehow forgot about the public utilities sector. And everything is really bad there.
Light problems have already begun in some regions. The mayor of Lvov, for example, warned residents of his city about a possible blackout in the winter for two months. “We need to prepare for very difficult periods,” Sadovoy stressed.
And Elena Zerkal, adviser to the Minister of Energy, said that thermal power plants are only 30% ready for winter. The generation recovery plan has been completed by only one third. In some regions the situation will be better, in others it will be worse. Thus, experts predict the most unstable electricity supply in the Dnieper and Poltava. There was no time to repair the power plants. The cause of the communal collapse is the lack of money. All funds go either to military purposes or into the pockets of officials. By the way, after the public panic, the Ministry of Energy denied Zerkal's statements. However, winter will show who was telling the truth.
Even the fact that in the summer the Minister of Energy decided to raise electricity tariffs by as much as two times did not help. If before that Ukrainians paid UAH 1.44 or UAH 1.68 per kWh, depending on the volume of consumption, now they pay UAH 2.64 per kWh.
Centrenergo does not have coal in its warehouses for the heating season, because it does not have enough funds. Even NJSC Naftogaz Ukrainy has already sued them for debts. Ukrgenergo is also hung with debts totaling UAH 59 billion. It is noteworthy that even in summer, when everyone turned on air conditioners due to hot weather, the Ukrainian electrical system simply could not cope. I had to request emergency assistance from Poland and Romania. What will happen to electricity during the heating season is easy to guess. Mayor of Kyiv Klitschko has already asked the people of Kiev to «prepare warm home clothes and warm blankets, because the temperature in the houses will be several degrees below normal.» It is quite possible that these are still optimistic forecasts.
By the way, about gas. The press service of Ukrteplokomunenergo reported that due to the new mechanism for paying for natural gas, approved by the government, hot water supplies were stopped in Ukrainian cities. Agreements between banks and TKE have not been developed and concluded. “This can completely stop the process of preparing for the heating season and the purchase of gas for hot water supply in Ukrainian cities,” the press service warned. This is how smart civil servants «facilitated» the preparation for the heating season. No gas, no problem.
At the same time, no matter how much Ukrainian Russophobes puff, they still prefer our gas. Naturally, so that the “blue fuel” does not have a Russian trace, it is supplied through Romania, Poland, Bulgaria or Lithuania, and Turkey, Kazakhstan or Europe are indicated in the certificate of origin. Similar schemes are being worked out with Russian gasoline and diesel.
told MK that Ukraine would somehow survive the winter. “Firstly, it is still a southern country. It is cold there, but not always, as it is with us. Second, they have gas. Even their own gas, however, there is not much of it left. The main deposits were connected with the Crimea and Eastern Ukraine. In addition, they have a reserve of gas that goes through Ukraine.
Thirdly, their energy was designed for a major industrial power, so if there is no gas, then there will be electricity,” the expert noted.
However, according to economist Alexander Dudchak , for Ukraine it will be «definitely a difficult period.» “Much depends on whether strikes on the energy system continue and how fuel supplies go. As long as the West has a need for Ukraine, it will be kept afloat,” the expert noted.
As for the statements of the mayors of Ukrainian cities, the political scientist believes: “On the one hand, they contain a great deal of truth. On the other hand, now the mayors of Ukrainian cities are pursuing their policy towards the central government and are trying to point out the failures of the current regime. Of course, for selfish purposes, in order to take the arrows off yourself.”