Naftogaz CEO Oleksiy Chernyshov has met the staff of the Kharkiv branch and Kharkiv city branch of the Gazmerezhi gas distribution company, according to the Naftogaz website.
He thanked the staff for the good work in preparing for the heating season. He recalled that in 2023, the company managed not only to increase Ukrainian gas production by 7% but also to fill underground gas storage facilities for winter ahead of schedule.
Now, he said, the issue of efficient gas distribution is no less important given the potential threats and attacks on critical infrastructure from Russia.
"We have some experience from the previous year. But we understand that the enemy has also drawn conclusions. Therefore, we must be prepared for unexpected scenarios. We are cooperating with the distribution networks of Kharkiv and Kharkiv Region to provide Kharkiv Region with heatinng despite all the threats and eliminate these risks, which, unfortunately, are quite possible," said Chernyshov.
Oleksiy Skryl, board chairman of Gazmerezhi, noted that relevant efforts are being taken: "We are moving towards building a national operator of Ukraine's gas distribution networks. The process of integrating regional gas companies into a single system is ongoing."
Dmytro Bezpalov, acting director of the Kharkiv branch, added that the company currently serves 12,300 km of gas networks, which is more than 450,000 customers.
"There are issues because we are at war. Since July 2023 alone, 180 km of gas pipelines and three gas control points have been restored. In general, we are 100% ready for the heating season," he added.
The city of Kharkiv is also ready for winter, said Vitaliy Stepanenko, acting director of the Kharkiv city branch: "Our gas networks are constantly expanding. Today it is about 2,600 km. The main area of work is the delivery of natural gas to Kharkiv residents, institutions, state employees, legal entities and other consumers. We are confident that 100% of all equipment has been tested and repaired."
Earlier, Chernyshov met Kharkiv mayor Ihor Terekhov and the head of the Kharkiv regional military administration, Oleh Synyehubov. They discussed preparations for the heating season in Kharkiv and the region.