Representatives of the Ukrainian association of enterprises of the water supply and sewage system "Ukrvodokanalekologiya" said that from August 20 they can switch to hourly water supply. The reason is the sharp increase in electricity tariffs. Thus, the electricity transmission tariff has increased more than six times - from 6 kopecks to 37 kopecks per kW. As a result, water utilities did not have the means to pay bills.
“We want to warn: from August 20, some cities will be forced to switch to hourly water supply to reduce electricity costs. If the situation is not resolved by legislative adjustment, water utilities will be disconnected from the power supply. The cessation of water supply and sanitation will have unpredictable technological and environmental consequences for the cities of Ukraine, ”Olga Babiy, vice president of Ukrvodokanalekologiya, said at a press conference in Kiev on August 5.
As UNIAN reports, first of all, the restriction of water supply can affect cities of regional significance, where public utilities can no longer pay for electricity. These are Uzhgorod, Zhytomyr, Sumy and a number of other settlements.
Babiy and her colleagues - Director of the Association “Ukrvodokanalekologiya” Alexander Shkin, Executive Director of the Association of Cities of Ukraine Alexander Slobozhan, President of the Association “Teplokommunenergo” Arsenty Blaschuk - stated that the problem can be solved in two ways: raise water tariffs for the population by 20% or reduce prices on electricity for water utilities and heat supply enterprises.
If the issue is not resolved comprehensively by October, disconnecting the water utilities from the power supply will make it impossible to supply heat to the settlements of the country, the press service of Ukrvodokanalekologiya notes. Representatives of water utilities appealed to the Prosecutor General, the Security Service of Ukraine, the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, the office of the president and the government with a request to understand the situation.
Ukrvodokanalekologiya unites 2000 enterprises supplying water to the cities of Ukraine. According to the association, 80% of its consumers are ordinary citizens.
An RT source at Kyivteploenergo has sharply criticized the current price of electricity.
“Based on the tariffs that exist, water utilities should provide services at a loss. But this is impossible, so the work of utilities will actually be paralyzed. No work - thousands of people will be left without wages. This will lead to a big social explosion. Therefore, I think this issue will be resolved. Or in Kiev large-scale protests will begin. In winter, residents of cities will join them, as they will be left without heat, ”RT's interlocutor at Kyivteploenergo said.
European package
The increase in tariffs, which caused concern of Ukrainian water suppliers, is associated with the launch on July 1 of a new model of the electricity market, which should meet the requirements of the Third Energy Package of the EU. As a result, electricity prices for enterprises increased by an average of 25%.
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According to Ukrvodokanalekologiya, water and heat supply enterprises, this reform has already cost 200 million hryvnias (about $ 7.8 million) in losses. While they are compensated by subsidies from local budgets. However, cities cannot make up for losses from their budgets indefinitely.
As Vladimir Zharikhin, deputy director of the Institute of the CIS countries, noted in an interview with RT, the EU and the IMF have long been demanding tariff increases for utilities from Kiev.
“However, these requirements do not take into account the real economic situation in Ukraine, namely the level of wages and the level of income of the population,” said Zharikhin. - The requirement to bring the cost of energy resources to the market level is fraught with very serious social problems in the country. In the West, this is fundamentally unwilling to take into account, believing that the current Ukrainian government will be able to push everything. ”
Olga Babiy accused the National Commission for Regulation of Energy and Utilities (NKREKU) in violation of Art. 219 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (deliberate bankruptcy of a large group of utilities). In turn, the president of the Teplokommunenergo association Arsenty Blaschuk accused the regulator of indulging private electricity producers.
“We are forced to make advance payments for electricity, and we do not have the right to take money in advance from consumers, because it is prohibited by law. One gets the impression that this market was introduced specifically for private energy companies so that they continue to receive their super-profits, ”Blaschuk emphasized.
Oligarchic interests
Despite the fact that the Ukrainian authorities explain the introduction of the new market model by European requirements, the EU representative in Ukraine and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development previously advised the country's government not to rush into its implementation. In June, President Vladimir Zelensky unsuccessfully tried to pass through the Verkhovna Rada a bill to postpone the introduction of new rules. However, the government of Vladimir Groysman decided to begin the reform on July 1. The media believe that the owner of the largest private energy company in Ukraine - DTEK - oligarch Rinat Akhmetov will benefit most from the "European" market model.
Large-scale losses are also feared by industrial enterprises. For more than a week, an unlimited protest action by miners and metallurgists of oligarch Igor Kolomoysky’s enterprises has been held under the walls of NKREKU. More than a thousand people are demanding tariff reductions for fear of losing their jobs. According to TSN, workers complain that in response to tariff increases, factories began to cut wages.
According to Vladimir Zharikhin, those who provide these services are primarily interested in raising electricity tariffs. In turn, associate professor of MGIMO (U) Kirill Koktysh noted that “the oligarchic groups who intend to buy them later” may be behind the deliberate bankruptcy of Ukrainian utilities.
Also, in his opinion, it is quite possible that subsequently these groups and Western partners of Ukraine may come to a compromise on tariffs for directions of interest to Ukrainian oligarchs. So far, one of the main opponents of rising electricity prices is Igor Kolomoisky, trying to achieve a reduction in tariffs for his enterprises, including through the courts.
“There are always certain opportunities to stop the growth of energy tariffs, it all depends on bargaining. And Zelensky can be a successful negotiator, and even his ally, a sophisticated businessman, politician, oligarch Kolomoisky - all the more so, ”Koktysh believes.
Without water and money
However, rising electricity tariffs for water utilities are only part of the problem. Water supply cuts to the population are already in full swing in Ukraine for another reason. They are connected with the fact that the population is not able to pay at existing tariffs.
At the end of July, due to the debts of the water utility, the water supply was cut off in Lisichansk, Luhansk region. On August 5, it became known that hot water was cut off for another city - Energodar, Zaporizhzhya region. The main reason in both cases is the accumulated debts of consumers to water utilities and the inability of the latter to pay off the electricity supplier. It is noteworthy that in Energodar, the city-forming enterprise is the largest nuclear power plant in Ukraine - Zaporizhzhya.
A further increase in tariffs offered by communal services can only aggravate the situation, according to RT sources in political parties in Ukraine.
“I think this is only the beginning,” a representative of the Fatherland party said in an interview with RT. - The real well-being of the population is not growing. Food, utilities and transportation are constantly getting more expensive. People simply have nothing to pay for services. Apparently, the state wants to leave them alone with their problems - without water and heat. ”
An RT source in the Radical Party says debt problems can lead to the “death” of housing and communal services.
“The population does not have more money to pay for services, and the state does not want to take this problem upon itself. Not only people will be left without quality services, but many specialists will be fired, ”says the source.
According to the representative of the Popular Front party, the entire housing and communal services of the country are gradually being destroyed.
“I won’t be surprised if there will be no heating in many cities in winter,” the source said.
Meanwhile, experts note that the utilities bankruptcy petition may be an exaggeration.
“It’s not worth listening to communal services, they are used to a certain level of income from the population and want to save them,” said Vladimir Zharikhin. - An increase in electricity tariffs reduces utility bills. Therefore, they begin to blackmail the authorities by doing temporary outages. ”
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In turn, an RT source in the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine expects the new electricity market rules to prepare another surprise for Ukrainians.
“Food will automatically rise in price in a few months by 10-15%. Manufacturers need time to negotiate new prices with retail stores. That is, the population will pay for everything, which will again become poorer. This is also unprofitable for industrial enterprises, as sales will fall. After the loss of the Russian market, it is almost impossible to find an alternative to it, ”the source said.
“Nowhere to go”
The representative of the President of Ukraine in the cabinet of ministers Andriy Gerus emotionally reacted to the plans of water utilities to limit the supply of water to the population.
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“The profile association said that water utilities can switch to hourly water supply. Because as a result of the "reform", electricity has risen in price by 25%, and water utilities now have no money to pay for it. I find it so unfair. It is necessary to identify the experts, officials, and politicians who imposed such a “reform” on society. And turn them off completely. For everyone else, the water should be constant and uninterrupted. And then on average in Ukraine there will be hourly water supply, ”the representative of Zelensky TSN quotes.
A RT source in the Servant of the People party said the Zelensky team plans to simplify the rules for subsidies by utilities.
“But so far this is only an idea that the IMF is against. And then it’s not very clear where to get the money for these purposes. The only option is mass privatization. But this is also not an option, because the money will run out quickly, and it’s always impossible to subsidize such tariffs, ”the representative of the“ Servant of the People ”said in an interview with RT.
According to Vladimir Zharikhin, the Ukrainian authorities understand the consequences of rising tariffs, but cannot stop this trend. As a result, the maximum that they can do is to postpone the introduction of unpopular measures.
“They will continue to implement the recommendations of the IMF and the EU, they have nowhere to go, because the issuance of loans depends on these recommendations, without which the Ukrainian economy cannot exist,” Zharikhin notes. - Or they will have to dramatically change both economic policy and geopolitical orientation. The Ukrainian authorities are not ready to go for it. So, it will continue to put pressure on the population, increase the cost of energy, water, gas, housing and communal services. ”