Sienkevych: problems with heating in Mykolaiv will worsen

The mayor of Mykolaiv, Oleksandr Sienkevych, believes that the problems with the start of heat, which the subscribers of Mykolaiv CHP encountered at the beginning of the heating season of 2023-2024, will only worsen in the coming years.

This opinion was expressed by the mayor of Mykolaiv on January 4 during his press conference, answering the questions of the NikVesti correspondent.

As you know, the 2023-24 heating season in Mykolaiv began on November 14, but Mykolaiv CHP was able to provide heat to residents only at the beginning of December due to numerous accidents on heating networks.

PJSC Mykolaivska Teploelektrotsentral is actually a state-owned enterprise managed by Naftohaz Ukraine.

«Today, we cooperate with CHPs, regardless of their form of ownership (belongs to the state, — note). The municipal utility company Mykolaivoblteploenerho develops projects for the replacement of certain emergency sections of the CHP, and we also help and cooperate with them and with our international partners for the construction of new CHP networks. Parallel or replacement, so that the next heating season comes with new networks. I cannot say what we will be able to do for this, as it is still in such a serious process, but these problems with starting the heat this year, they will only worsen in the following years,» Oleksandr Sienkevych said.

Oleksandr Sienkevych, mayor of Mykolaiv. Photo: Kateryna Sereda, NikVesti

Commenting on the situation that arose with the start of heat in the houses of Mykolaiv residents in December, Oleksandr Sienkevych assured that this is not a management problem, but the consequences of the destruction of the main networks of the Mykolaiv CHP along Pohranychna, Mariupolska (former Moskovska), 3rd Slobidska and Bohoiavlenskyi avenues.

«This is not a management problem. I think you all attended the press conference of Vitalii Kim (the head of Mykolayiv RMA, — note), you know that it makes no sense for me to defend CHP, because they are not a city enterprise, they work in the city, but the form of ownership is state. Objectively, they carried out work on replacing the boiler equipment, they will now receive new auxiliary equipment from our donors. But the pipes, main networks, trunk lines that run along Pohranychna Street, Mariupolska Street, 3rd Slobidska Street, and Bohoiavlenskyi Avenue are in a terrible condition. And their quality is deteriorating every day,» said Oleksandr Sienkevych.

The mayor of Mykolaiv noted that he receives information about the number of accidents on CHP networks every day. According to him, their number is now the same as it was before the start of the full-scale invasion.

«But the heating season will end, the pressure will drop, water will stop moving through the pipes — they will start to rot again. And the next heating season we will have the same story. The only thing we decided to do next year is not to wait for the process of a complete drop in temperature, but to do it earlier (turn on the heat, note) in order to go into the frost with all the repairs and so on. Why do gusts occur in winter? Because the heating does not work in the summer. What was the problem this year: they filled the system, pressurized it, the water was cold, everything was fine, they found it, repaired it. They began to heat the water, the heated water began to expand temperature seams and so on. And the water went into the house, as they say. For me, as the mayor, this is a big reputational blow, because people do not understand that we as a city, as a city council, cannot influence in any way, but we are trying today to cooperate and help the company «Mykolaivoblteploenerho» to repair these areas,» said Oleksandr Sienkevych.

Earlier, it was reported that in Mykolaiv, Sienkevych's task of transitioning the social sphere to autonomous heating has not yet been fulfilled.

Numerous gusts of CHP networks are connected, in particular, with the fact that last heating season the enterprise used salty water from the estuary, which accelerates the corrosion of already outdated pipes. In contrast to this, purified water from wells was poured into «Mykolaivovoblteploenerho», as NikVesti wrote in the article «Winter is near: What will the heating season be like in Mykolaiv?». Thus, the start of both heating seasons began without disruptions and significant accidents in the houses served by the regional heat and power utility.