"This is just the beginning": how Ukrainian regions are introducing an emergency regime due to problems with gas supplies to budgetary institutions

Already in six regions of Ukraine - Odessa, Khmelnytsky, Lvov, Transcarpathian, Poltava and Ivano-Frankivsk - a regional emergency regime has been declared.

The reason was the refusal of gas suppliers to fulfill previously concluded contracts due to the increase in prices for blue fuel.

Now, according to regional administrations, there is a risk that the heating season for hospitals, schools, kindergartens and other budgetary institutions may be disrupted.

According to experts, the course of pricing reform, which Kiev took after 2014, led to the current situation.

"In the course of this reform, the price of gas inside the country was formed depending on gas prices on external trading floors," Alexander Frolov, deputy director general of the Institute of National Energy, explained in a commentary to RT.

In particular, a colossal rise in prices was reported in the Odessa region.

During an extraordinary meeting of the Commission on Technogenic and Environmental Safety and Emergencies of the Odessa Regional State Administration (OGA), it was noted that suppliers warn many budgetary institutions of the region about the termination of supplies and the termination of contracts.

“In connection with the increase in the market value of the wholesale purchase of natural gas, service providers cannot fulfill the contractual conditions, and social institutions, in turn, cannot pay the multiply inflated cost of services.

Today, suppliers are offering market prices for gas supply services at the level of 40 UAH / cubic meter.

m (109.2 rubles -

) ", - noted at the meeting on October 11.

At the same time, according to the head of the Department of Life Support Systems and Energy Efficiency of the Odessa Regional State Administration Anton Shalygailo, earlier contracts were concluded for the supply of fuel at an average price of UAH 11.5 per cubic meter.

m (31.4 rubles - 

)

excluding VAT.

In this regard, the Regional State Administration stressed, budgetary institutions and institutions of the social sphere may be disconnected from the gas supply due to the lack of suppliers and the inability to conclude new contracts in a short time.

The refusal of suppliers to fulfill contracts with a non-market price was also announced in the Transcarpathian region.

“The estimated demand for natural gas for budgetary institutions for the heating season is about 25 million cubic meters.

m. But the price and the lack of a natural gas supplier jeopardize the timeliness of the start of the heating season and the uninterrupted operation of establishments in the autumn-winter period, ”said the head of the region Anatoly Poloskov.

The authorities of the Lviv region recently reported that there are 825 budgetary institutions operating in the region, with a total of more than 4 thousand gas metering points.

However, of this number, only 986 points have been put into operation.

According to the head of the department of the fuel and energy complex, energy efficiency and housing and communal services of the region, Bogdan Keivan, this is due to the fact that most of the institutions have not concluded contracts for the supply of fuel.

“Considering the duration of the trades held in the ProZorro system (almost all government purchases are carried out through it. -

) and their incomplete in terms of determining the winners, both due to the lack of a sufficient number of participants and due to significant fluctuations in gas prices, we have such a difficult the situation in the budgetary sphere, ”he noted.

In the Poltava region, the introduction of an emergency was called a measure that will help government agencies to more quickly conclude new agreements.

"Now, according to the law, they will be able to conclude contracts for the supply of gas not in full, but according to an abbreviated procedure, which will last only a few days," said the head of the Poltava Regional State Administration Oleg Sinegubov.

The authorities of the Ivano-Frankivsk region reacted to the situation more emotionally, noting that now they will have to find significant funds to provide social institutions with gas from the budget.

“There is no heating in healthcare institutions.

Now it is 18-19 degrees Celsius.

Despite the fact that at the beginning of the year there was an agreement on the gas price at 7-8 UAH (19.1-21.8 rubles - 

) per cubic meter, but now it turns out - 30 (80 rubles - 

)?

And this is an additional 500 thousand UAH (1.37 million rubles - 

) for the city budget!

Now imagine what the situation is in educational institutions.

More than 10 thousand children who should study in warm and comfortable conditions.

And this is more than 253 thousand cubic meters of gas and more than 7 million (19.1 million rubles - 

) for the city budget.

And then there are cultural institutions, libraries, social institutions ... This is an emergency and urgent decisions need to be made, "Ivano-Frankivsk Mayor Ruslan Martsinkiv wrote on Facebook.

• Facebook

Later, however, the post was deleted.

As one of the users suggested, this happened due to numerous complaints that began to appear under the publication.

"And this actually looks like anti-European and anti-Western propaganda," the user noted.

Instead, Martsinkiv posted a message that the heating season in the city will begin on 18 October.

At the same time, he admitted that there will still be problems with its provision.

“There are nuances with the centralized heating system - it is worn out, so we expect breakthroughs,” the mayor wrote.

We wanted the best

At the same time, the heads of the regions recall the recent memorandum on non-increase in tariffs for heat and hot water, which was concluded on September 30 between the Cabinet of Ministers, "Naftogaz", the association of Ukrainian cities and the chamber of local authorities of the Congress.

According to this agreement, by the end of the heating season, the price of gas for the population should be 7.4 UAH (20.2 rubles -

) per cubic meter, and for budgetary organizations - 13.6 UAH (37.2 rubles - 

) for 1 cub.

m. At the same time, Prime Minister Denis Shmygal said that Ukraine has a sufficient supply of gas in underground storage facilities for the stable passage of the autumn-winter season, and named the volume at 19 billion cubic meters.

m.

• Prime Minister of Ukraine Denis Shmygal

• AP

• © Efrem Lukatsky

It is also noted in the document that in order to maintain low tariffs in 2022, revenues from personal income tax in the amount of 4% will be sent to local budgets, which will amount to at least UAH 11 billion (RUB 30 billion).

The Ministry of Energy and Coal Industry of Ukraine explains the situation by the fact that 30% less fuel was pumped into underground gas storage facilities this year.

The situation is aggravated by the fact that an energy crisis is also being observed in Europe.

“The problem is that coal reserves are also at a minimum.

Previously, if necessary, thermal power plants were converted to gas.

But this year there will be no such opportunity.

I'm not even talking about the fact that rolling blackouts may begin, "said an RT source in the department.

The president’s Servant of the People party, in turn, says that the government overlooked the gas situation and turned its full attention to other programs such as road construction.

“As I understand it, this is only the beginning and soon such a crisis situation will be observed in other regions of the country.

Ukraine has completely failed preparations for the heating season, "admitted RT's interlocutor in Servant of the People.

In the Batkivshchyna party, one of the ways out of the situation was the purchase of at least some amount of gas directly from Moscow.

“But it is better to write nasty things about Russia and freeze proudly than to conclude contracts for the supply of gas with Gazprom.

Can you imagine how people will feel in winter if the air temperature in apartments drops to +10 degrees or to +5?

And you will not turn on the heater, because there will also be interruptions with the light.

And the cold weather in Ukraine lasts, as a rule, until mid-March, "complained an RT source in Batkivshchyna.

• Ukrainian schoolchildren

• AFP

• © Genya Savilov

Following the European trend

According to experts, the Ukrainian authorities could cope with the current crisis if they were not tied to the European gas market. As Aleksandr Frolov recalled, Ukraine consumes about 30 billion cubic meters per year. meters of gas, of which it itself produces about 20 billion cubic meters. Of this amount, the analyst noted, about 13.5 billion cubic meters. m falls on the state company "Ukrgasvydobuvannya". In early October, she reported on the production of 10.2 billion cubic meters for the nine months of 2021.

“This company, in theory, could deliver gas to consumers cheaper, but from the point of view of liberal economic models, this is impossible.

Because if the prices for gas inside the country are lower than prices outside the country, then the companies will focus on selling their gas outside the country, where gas will be more expensive.

This means that gas inside Ukraine should cost the same as, say, on some European exchange.

And the prices there are now colossal, ”Frolov expressed his view of the situation.

Aleksey Grivach, Deputy Director General of the Russian National Energy Security Fund, agrees with his assessment.

As the analyst notes, due to the reform of the Ukrainian gas market, domestic prices for consumers were tied to spot quotations in Europe.

“As a result, despite the fact that Ukrainian gas supplies about two-thirds of the country's gas needs, not only industry, but also state employees pay for gas at European prices.

And tariffs for utilities are also growing following the spot rally in Europe, ”said the interlocutor of RT.

In turn, an expert at the Ukrainian Institute of Energy Strategies, Yuriy Korolchuk, explained that budgetary institutions of the country are forced to go out for contracts on the stock exchange and hold tenders, since they do not have direct agreements with Naftogaz.   

“According to the law, institutions are obliged to announce a tender for the supply of gas, but companies come to them with prices of 35-40 thousand hryvnyas (95.6-109.3 thousand rubles -

) per thousand cubic meters, and they cannot cope with this cost.

In an amicable way, it is necessary for Naftogaz to purchase fuel for these suppliers, with which they would have already entered tenders with a price of at least UAH 18 thousand (49.2 thousand rubles -

) per thousand cubic meters.

This would be a solution to the problem, "he said in a comment to RT.

• Gas production enterprise of the company "Ukrgasvydobuvannya" in the Stryi district of the Lviv region

• RIA News

"On the same rake"

Meanwhile, Naftogaz, against the background of the current situation, came up with a proposal for a special price for schools, kindergartens, hospitals and religious organizations.

“Schools, kindergartens, hospitals will be able to buy gas at UAH 13.7 per cubic meter.

m (37.4 rubles -

) ... In Ukraine, there are only a few days left before the start of the heating season.

Budgetary organizations can buy gas from any supplier, but today it is impossible to find gas at a price lower than 30-45 hryvnia (82-123 rubles -

) per cubic meter, ”the company said on Facebook.

They noted that the contract on the proposed terms is concluded for 15 months (until the end of 2022), and the total cost of a cubic meter of gas, including VAT and transportation, will be UAH 16.8 (RUB 45.9).

As Vladimir Olenchenko, senior researcher at the Center for European Studies, IMEMO RAS, noted, this situation could have been completely avoided.

“All this testifies to the incompetence of the Kiev authorities.

After all, it depends on them how the economic and energy situation will develop, since Ukraine has not a federal structure, but a unitary one.

Therefore, to put it bluntly, the situation in Ukraine can be described as "stepping on the same rake."

Indeed, last year there was an almost similar situation, maybe just not so dramatic, "Olenchenko told RT.

In this regard, the expert called the loud statements of government representatives about their confidence in the comfortable passage of the heating season political bravado.

“Politicians and officials want to demonstrate their anti-Russian spirit by sacrificing their direct responsibilities to ensure the well-being of the population,” concluded Olenchenko.