Unique opportunity: ex-head of Naftogaz Kobolev told how Ukraine can reduce gas consumption

The war with Russia has forced Ukrainians to think about how to survive the 2022-2023 heating season.

As the former head of Naftogaz Ukrainy Andriy Kobolev said in an interview for LB live, the country now has a unique opportunity to reduce gas consumption.

“The situation this winter will be influenced by Ukraine’s ability in the new military reality to balance gas consumption, make it less and, preferably, bring it to the level of domestic production”– said Kobolev.

According to him, they are talking about both reducing the consumption of gigacalories of heat and reducing the sources of their generation. The most obvious and beneficial step is transition of private households to electricity.

A more efficient model for the economics of district heating is that as many Ukrainians as possible switch to a new heating method, because it is more difficult to do this with enterprises.

Image on the world stage

In conditions of war, Ukraine constantly calls on European countries to abandon Russian energy sources. For Europeans, this means certain difficulties during the heating season. In order not to cause indignation in the international arena, Ukrainians must also switch to alternatives.

Citizens should understand that spending gas for heating is inappropriate and expensive. Kobolev stressed that the market value of the conditional 5 billion cubic meters of gas in the EU is over 5 billion euros, and the Ukrainian consumer will not pay such amounts. The money saved can be used for more urgent needs, and it can be accumulated by switching to another heating model.

Need to think now

Many experts note that the upcoming heating season will be very difficult, and everyone should prepare for it in the summer. First of all, the problem is in tariffs – in 2021, DH companies bought gas for 7.42 UAH per cubic meter, and in 2022 prices may increase up to 29 UAH per cubic meter.

“It will be impossible to keep the tariff for heat and hot water at such a price” – said the head of the Union of Consumers of Public Utilities Oleg Popenko.

The Cabinet of Ministers hopes for the last time not to raise tariffs for the population thanks to Western funding. However, mechanisms for such compensation have not yet been worked out.

Another serious problem is the inability of many Ukrainians to pay for a communal apartment due to the loss of a source of income and property in connection with the war. According to preliminary estimates, almost 5 million people are unemployed to pay utility bills, the same goes for most of the migrants.

Oleg Popenko added that the heating season needs up to 20 billion cubic meters gas. Of these, almost 2 billion cubic meters will have to be bought abroad, and this is $ 2 billion of expenses that need to be taken from somewhere.

“Today” used to tell for whom Naftogaz was forced to become a supplier of last hope, and they told to whom the company sends “letters of happiness” with fines.