The head of the board of JSC "Naftogaz of Ukraine" Yuii Vitrenko criticized the decision of local authorities to start the heating season in Kyiv.
He wrote about it on Facebook.
"The weather is warm and sunny in Kyiv. Daytime up to +19 °C. European countries limit the consumption of natural gas, politicians publicly say that they will start heating from November, take photos in warm sweaters to show that they do not turn on the heating. And here you read the news that Kyiv is starting the heating season [...]. Itʼs only the beginning of October, and local authorities in Ukrainian cities are making such decisions," Vitrenko noted.
He added that if heating companies bought gas at the market price and paid for it in full, "the situation would be different", "and the state has to compensate for the difference." Vitrenko stated that "Naftogaz" sells gas to heating plants at 7.4 hryvnias per м3, while the price of imported gas is up to 100 hryvnias. Currently, there is not enough Ukrainian mining.
According to Vitrenka, the weather conditions allow starting the heating season from November and save money on the purchase of imported gas.
- On October 7, Mayor Vitaliy Klitschko announced that the capital is starting the heating season for social institutions — the capitalʼs hospitals, schools, kindergartens, etc.
- This winter is expected to be the most difficult in all the years of independence because of the Russian invasion. Yuriy Vitrenko, the head of JSC "Naftogaz", warned that the temperature in the premises will be four degrees lower than normal, and the heating season will start later and end earlier than usual.