Issue of Naftogaz blocking district heating companies' accounts must be resolved legislatively – MP Kucherenko
Bill No. 14067 on supporting the development of efficient and sustainable district heating, which is currently being prepared for second reading in parliament, should contain provisions aimed at resolving the problem of Naftogaz Ukrainy blocking the accounts of district heating utilities, First Deputy Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Energy and Housing and Utilities Services Oleksiy Kucherenko believes.
He made the statement during a roundtable discussion at the Interfax-Ukraine news agency titled "Transformation of municipal heat supply enterprises into energy companies: what changes and how to act," organized by the Association of Critical Infrastructure Operators and the Association of Ukrainian Cities.
"The first thing we need to do is to include in the bill a block of issues aimed at resolving the problem of Naftogaz blocking the accounts of district heating companies so as not to paralyze their operations and disrupt preparations for the heating season. If enterprises have their accounts blocked, they are naturally unable to prepare for winter and implement so-called resilience plans. And who, then, will implement them?" Kucherenko said.
He added that in this case the bill would become comprehensive rather than being limited solely to the issue of introducing individual heating substations (IHS) in apartment buildings.
According to him, the situation with blocked accounts is nonsensical because the state itself owes compensation to district heating utilities for tariff differences while simultaneously being the shareholder of Naftogaz.
Kucherenko said that Naftogaz has the right to demand repayment of the principal debt, but penalties and fines remain an unresolved issue.
He described the UAH 130 billion debt owed by district heating companies to Naftogaz for consumed gas as an astronomical amount, saying it reflects poor management decisions at the government level.
"The UAH 130 billion debt of district heating companies to Naftogaz, which was cited by company head Koretsky, is an astronomical figure. Today, UAH 77 billion is effectively already confirmed as tariff compensation debt. And after recalculations it may increase to as much as UAH 100 billion. The Cabinet of Ministers must understand that if tariff compensation debt grows by UAH 20 billion every year, this is clear evidence that wrong management decisions, laws, and government resolutions were adopted," Kucherenko said.
At the same time, he pointed out that Naftogaz Ukrainy itself is currently in a difficult position, facing the task of purchasing 5.5 billion cubic meters of gas for the heating season.
"And it simply does not have enough money for this amid rising prices in Europe. It has UAH 200 billion in debt obligations, including because these debt issues with counterparties have not been fundamentally resolved," the lawmaker said.
He expressed confidence that these issues should be raised to the level of the prime minister and that "an adequate dialogue should be requested" in order to resolve everything as quickly as possible.
The MP called on participants of the roundtable to jointly develop a concept for pulling the sector out of crisis that would, in his words, provide for genuine state management and regulation.
At the same time, replying to a question from Energy Reform, Kucherenko suggested that the issue of account blockages could also be resolved at the government level.
"In principle, it is enough for the shareholder of Naftogaz, meaning the Cabinet of Ministers, to instruct its enterprise, in which it owns 100%, not to block the accounts of district heating companies. And the head of that company must comply with the shareholder's order. So let the Cabinet adopt a special decision, resolution, or directive. This is three days of work," the first deputy chairman of the parliamentary energy and utilities committee said.
For his part, Executive Secretary of the Association of Critical Infrastructure Operators Ruslan Holub drew attention to the fact that under enforcement proceedings related to account blockages, 10% of debts are written off as payment for the services of the enforcement agency, meaning district heating companies lose substantial amounts of money.
"Across the country, tariff compensation debt exceeds UAH 70 billion. When Naftogaz Trading submitted most of the debts to the enforcement service, the following happened: enforcement officers first take 10% from enterprises for their services, meaning that within the overall tariff compensation debt this amounts to UAH 7 billion, and then everything they manage to recover from district heating companies is transferred to Naftogaz Trading. So district heating companies will lose UAH 7 billion out of nowhere," Holub explained.
As reported, at the same event Executive Director of the Association of Ukrainian Cities Oleksandr Slobozhan stated that Naftogaz Ukrainy had blocked the accounts of 69 district heating enterprises through court proceedings, threatening a complete shutdown of their operations, disrupting the implementation of resilience plans, and making preparations for the upcoming heating season impossible.
Municipal enterprise Teplovyk (the city of Starokostiantyniv, Khmelnytsky region) plans to increase its share in covering the city's energy needs from 30% to 50% by the upcoming heating season. However, according to company director Oleksandr Dushenko, the blocking of its accounts by Naftogaz Ukrainy threatens implementation of these plans.
The Ministry for Communities and Territories Development is developing relevant solutions regarding the unblocking of district heating utility accounts and changing the proportion of fund distribution on their accounts, which currently stands at 35/65 (where the district heating utilities' share is 35% and Naftogaz Ukrainy's share is 65%), Director of the ministry's Life Support Systems Department Vitaliy Surai said during the roundtable discussion.