Ukraine plans to increase utility tariffs: how much will the prices for services increase?

In Ukraine, a gradual increase in tariffs for basic utilities is predicted, and the first changes may occur as early as 2026. This was stated by the head of the Union of Consumers of Utilities Oleg Popenko during the broadcast of the program “Den.LIVE”.

The expert noted that the prerequisites for changing the tariff policy were laid earlier – the relevant recommendations are contained in the documents of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which were presented to the Ukrainian government last year. The changes will not concern a sharp increase in cost, but a gradual increase that will cover several important areas at once, such as electricity, natural gas and related utilities.

Popenko reported that this year we can expect a noticeable increase in electricity tariffs – by about 20%. According to forecasts, by 2028 the tariff for the population may reach about 7.5 UAH per kilowatt-hour. This trend is explained by the need to bring prices to an economically justified level, as well as taking into account the costs of restoring and modernizing the energy infrastructure.

In addition, it is planned to review prices for natural gas, which is critically important for the formation of heat tariffs. The increase in gas prices will certainly affect the cost of heating and hot water supply, which, in turn, will lead to an increase in payments for consumers in several areas at once.

Popenko also emphasized that the changes will be monitored and will occur gradually in order to reduce the burden on consumers and provide an opportunity to adapt to new conditions. In the long term, the increase in tariffs will be inevitable, since it is due to both external obligations of the state and internal economic factors, in particular the state of the energy sector and the need for its further development.