In Mykolaiv, a plan was proposed to save 126 million on heating

At a meeting of the Mykolaiv City Council’s budget committee, a method for modernizing the heating systems in old apartment buildings was presented; according to estimates, this could save the city more than 126 million hryvnias annually.

Petro Dermenzhy, director of the private enterprise “Architect’s Creative Workshop ‘Proekt,’” spoke about this at the committee meeting .

According to the speaker, the housing stock built during the Soviet era has been in operation for 40–60 years without any replacement of the heating networks, and the pipes have exceeded their design life by two to three times.

“The internal heating pipe in the building at 17-B Myru Avenue has seen its hydraulic cross-section reduced by 75–80 percent, which paralyzes the circulation of the heat transfer fluid,” Dermenzhy cited as an example.

The speaker cited data from relevant agencies:

• residential consumers’ debt for heat energy across Ukraine totals 33 billion hryvnias;
• the amount of debt resulting from the difference in residential rates totals 71.6 billion hryvnias;
• residents of Mykolaivowe the regional utility company 383 million hryvnias as of March 1;
• due to imbalances in heating systems across Ukraine, between 580 and 700 million cubic meters of gas are wasted each heating season.

The director proposed switching from a vertical single-pipe heating system to a horizontal two-pipe system with the installation of apartment heat meters.

“According to European experts, this meter makes it possible to save 20 percent of heat,” explained the speaker, adding that starting in 2022, such meters may be installed directly inside apartments.

According to his calculations, a 20 percent fuel savings across Mykolaiv would amount to 8.41 million cubic meters of gas per year, which is equivalent to approximately 126 million hryvnias.

"On the scale of Mykolaiv, the savings from the regional utility company alone will allow the municipality to completely renovate the heating systems in 11 buildings every year," the director noted.

One of the commission members, Serhiy Anatoliyovych, proposed creating a separate working group involving relevant city enterprises to develop a pilot project for heating system modernization.

“Sooner or later, we’ll have to address this issue. I propose that we get together and develop a pilot project for our city so that we can gradually move away from Soviet-era standards,” he said.

Due to the lack of a quorum, the commission was unable to vote on next steps and postponed the discussion.

Ірина Глухова