«Mykolaivelektrotrans» may run out of funds to pay for electricity by the end of October

«Mykolaivelektrotrans» may run out of money to pay for electricity. Photo: archive NikVesti

The municipal enterprise «Mykolaivelektrotrans» has not received any funding from the executive committee since September. As a result, the company may run out of funds to pay for electricity by the end of October.

This was announced by the company’s director, Yurii Smetana, during a staff meeting at the city council, according to NikVesti.

According to him, electric transport in Mykolaiv is currently operating as normal. However, the enterprise has not received any funding from the executive committee since September. There have also been problems with making payments via the State Treasury Service.

«Since September, the company has not received a single hryvnia from the client or the executive committee, and our accounts for service payments with the State Treasury Service have been frozen. If this continues, we will not be able to pay for electricity by the end of October,» said Yurii Smetana.

However, he added that the company does have the funds to pay staff salaries.

«We will have the funds for salaries. But we will no longer have enough to pay for electricity,» he added.

Yurii Smetana cited the conclusion of a contract between the executive committee and the company for November and December as another unresolved issue.

Mayor Oleksandr Sienkevych replied that the city council is aware of the problems with the treasury and that they do not concern only «Mykolaivelektrotrans».

«We are aware of this issue regarding the Treasury. It is well known, and it is not unique to us. As for the last two months, as I understand it, this is linked to our lack of funds as such and our latest appeal to the Cabinet of Ministers and the Verkhovna Rada,» said Oleksandr Sienkevych.

At the same time, Yurii Smetana spoke about the company’s preparations for possible power cuts. Generators have been installed at various locations, enabling 23 trolleybuses to be charged simultaneously during a blackout. The fuel supply for the generators should last for 14 days of continuous operation.

The company has also commissioned a 92 kW hybrid solar power station and 120 kW battery systems to meet its own energy needs.

In addition, the conversion of another trolleybus has been completed; it can now travel up to 20 kilometres without the overhead contact line. In total, «Mykolaivelektrotrans» now has 42 trolleybuses capable of autonomous operation.

It should be noted that the operations of «Mykolaivelektrotrans» depend to a large extent on the city budget. Previously, NikVesti reported that the company had requested 716 million hryvnias from the Mykolaiv budget to fund the operation of trams and trolleybuses in 2026. Its own revenue was projected at 82 million hryvnias, of which 74 million was expected to come from ticket sales.

NikVesti also reported that, from the start of 2026, the executive committee had transferred 128.1 million hryvnias to «Mykolaivelektrotrans» for passenger transport services. At the time, Yurii Smetana also stated that the company needed to secure funding for November and December.

Furthermore, between 2024 and 2025, the city contributed 212 million hryvnias to the authorised capital of «Mykolaivelektrotrans». In terms of the volume of such contributions, the company ranked third among Mykolaiv’s municipal enterprises, after «Mykolaivvodokanal» and «Mykolaivoblteploenergo».