Odesa residents appeal to mayor's office to ban water price increase

A petition demanding that the Odesa City Council cancel current decisions or draft decisions to revise tariffs for water supply and sewerage upward has appeared on the Socially Active Citizen platform.

According to the author of the petition, Iryna Balandiuk, the increase in the cost of utilities under martial law and economic instability is a critical burden on family budgets.

"Given that the incomes of most citizens remain at the same level or have decreased, and inflation has significantly increased the cost of basic food and medicine, any increase in tariffs will lead to impoverishment of the population and an increase in utility debts. Taking into account the social tension and the Government's recommendations to maintain tariffs for the population, we consider any attempts to increase water prices unacceptable," the author of the petition insists.

She also demands to ensure an independent financial audit of the activities of the relevant utilities and service providers, in particular, Infox LLC, a branch of Infoxvodokanal, to justify the existing costs before raising the issue of their revision, as well as to find a way to cover the difference in tariffs by optimizing the costs of enterprises or raising funds from local or state budgets without shifting this burden onto the shoulders of Odesa residents.

The matter is that INFOX Limited Liability Company, whose branch Infoksvodokanal supplies water to Odesa, has informed about its intention to change the tariffs for centralized water supply and centralized sewerage.

The tariffs are to change as follows: currently, Odesa residents pay UAH 17.9 per cubic meter of water (including VAT), and after the tariff revision they will actually pay UAH 51, which will increase by 184.5%. Consumers who are business entities in the areas of centralized water supply and sewerage will pay UAH 21.9 per cubic meter instead of the current UAH 15.8. Odesa residents currently pay 17.2 hryvnias for sewage, and will pay 42.7 hryvnias, which is 147.6% more.

Кирило Бойко