Utility bills will increase 10 times: Ukrainians will cover their neighbors’ expenses
The initiative to exempt owners of apartments with individual heating from paying for centralized heating may have serious consequences for the rest of the residents. Experts note that if such changes are adopted, payments for a significant part of Ukrainians may increase significantly.
This was noted by the main representative of the Union of Consumers of Public Utilities Oleg Popenko. He emphasized that such proposals do not take into account the basic principles of the functioning of the heating system in apartment buildings.
According to the specialist, high-rise buildings function as a single heating system in which all apartments are interconnected. Even if a resident has installed an autonomous boiler and disconnected from central heating, his housing continues to partially receive heat at the expense of neighboring apartments.
This is the so-called “heat flow”, when heat is transferred through walls, ceilings and other elements of the building. As a result, owners of individual heating can actually use the heat produced in neighboring apartments.
The expert warns that if the number of apartments with individual heating increases, this will lead to an imbalance. Some residents will start saving by lowering the temperature in their apartments, while the main burden will fall on those who continue to use centralized heating.
In such a situation, heating costs may increase to critical levels. According to Popenko, bills may increase by 5-10 times, and in some cases – even more.
Similar cases have already occurred before. The expert recalled the situation in Kyiv, where several years ago, in one of the buildings, due to uneven distribution of payments, some residents actually did not pay for heat, while others received huge bills.
According to the expert, the proposed changes are not a solution to problems in the communal sector, but on the contrary, create new risks. Such initiatives may be populist in nature and not take into account real technical and economic consequences.
