09 February 2021, Tuesday, 18:13 131

Cabinet Agrees With Local Authorities Not To Increase Tariffs For Heat And Hot Water Until End Of Heating Season

Редактор: Daria Zubkova

The Cabinet of Ministers has agreed with the local authorities not to increase tariffs for heat and hot water until the end of the heating season.

Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal wrote about this in his Telegram channel, Ukrainian News Agency reports.

"Tariffs for heat and hot water will not increase this heating season. We have just officially formalized this in a memorandum with the local authorities. This is one of eight steps of our team to resolve the tariff issue," he wrote.

According to a statement on the President's website, the memorandum also provides that heat supply enterprises will be guaranteed to receive gas for heat production and supply to citizens' homes during the entire heating period of 2020-2021.

In particular, these enterprises are provided with a deferral of payment for natural gas and compensation for the difference between the market price of gas and the price taken into account in tariffs for heat.

In turn, the government guarantees that the financing of compensation for heat supply enterprises will not be passed on to local governments.

Also, the Naftogaz of Ukraine national joint-stock company will develop and implement by September 1, 2021, long-term price proposals to ensure a stable level of prices for natural gas for heat supply enterprises.

"This will allow avoid price fluctuations during the heating season 2021-2022," the President's website stressed.

Also, according to the statement on the President's website, a memorandum was concluded between the Cabinet of Ministers represented by the Minister for Development of Communities and Territories Oleksii Chernyshev and the Acting Energy Minister Yurii Vitrenko, the National Commission on State Regulation of Energy and Utility Services (Energy Commission), Naftogaz of Ukraine national joint-stock company and mayors of Ukrainian cities.

It is noted that this decision was supported by all mayors.

In particular, the mayor of Zhytomyr, Serhii Sukhomlyn, the head of Kyiv, Vitali Klitschko, the mayor of Odesa, Hennadii Trukhanov, and the mayor of Bucha, Anatolii Fedoruk, signed the memorandum on behalf of the mayors of the cities.

Also, with the help of video link, the event was attended by the mayor of Dnipro, Borys Filatov, the head of Lviv, Andrii Sadovyi, and the mayor of Mariupol, Vadym Boichenko.

As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, the Cabinet of Ministers has fixed the gas price for household consumers at the level of UAH 6.99 per cubic meter from February to April.

At the same time, the European Business Association asked the Cabinet of Ministers not to introduce a fixed gas price for the population from February and stated that fixing the gas price for the population creates the risk of not receiving a tranche from the International Monetary Fund and may cause losses to national gas producing companies.