The National Energy and Utilities Regulatory Commission on 5 May decided to raise heating tariffs and central heating services by 75-90 per cent depending on a utility company.
"A lion's share of adjustments (about 90 per cent) is related to the decision of the Cabinet of Ministers on the price of gas, the rest is related to the revision of salaries in accordance with the new sizes of minimum wages and single social contribution, and changes in retail electricity tariffs," said the commission’s chairman Dmytro Vovk.
The tariffs are to be raised as of 1 July.
Vovk said that as of 1 April, about 60 per cent of households were equipped with heat-measuring devices and this figure is expected to reach 86 per cent by 1 January. "Why not 100 per cent? Because a number of companies do not submit their investment programmes that envisage commercial gas meters," said Vovk.
He assured that the regulator was considering a set of measures to reduce heating tariffs.
"The commission is working to replace natural gas with coal in heat generation where it is possible. Among such cities are Kyiv, Chernihiv, Cherkasy, Sumy and Kalush. Short-term measures to deal with the bottleneck problems in the generation and transfer of heat generated from coal will make it possible to reduce heat tariffs in these cities on the average," Vovk said.