CPR investigates what is wrong with heat supply in Odesa

On November 3, the Center for Public Investigations released the film "What's Wrong with Heat Supply in Odesa," in which it attempted to analyze the problems of the Odesa City Heating Company.

As noted in the investigative film, one of the global problems with heat supply in the city is the deterioration of the infrastructure.

According to Natalia Mostovskikh, the former director of the Odesa Department of Municipal Economy, in 2022, a scheme of heating networks was approved, according to which about 70% of communications need either major repairs or replacement. The work requires billions of hryvnias and the involvement of investors.

At the same time, worn-out utilities result in large heat losses and increased consumption of resources such as water, electricity, and gas, which have to be paid for, among other things, from the budget. It also leads to accidents and additional costs.

Other problems listed on the official website of the utility company are payment for heat energy by consumers at the level of up to 80% and low tariffs that do not take into account all the costs of heat energy production and transportation.

As of now, the debt for heat alone amounts to UAH 1.2 billion, and the debtors are being sued. Almost three thousand such cases are currently under consideration. There are also debts to utility companies for the difference in tariffs, which should be covered by the state budget. According to the Ministry of Communities and Territories Development of Ukraine, the amount of debt to the Odesa City Heat Supply Company is currently UAH 1.46 billion. It has been stretching since June 2021.

In 2024, according to Olena Chernysheva, a journalist at the Center for Public Policy, there is no money in the budget to compensate for the difference. The situation is similar not only in Odesa - the total debt on the difference in tariffs for Ukrainian heating companies is UAH 48.8 billion. At the same time, every year the Odesa City Heating Company receives about half a billion hryvnias in subsidies from Odesa taxpayers.

Кирило Бойко