People in Mykolaiv are complaining about management companies, freezing radiators and air in the system

Residents of Mykolaiv are complaining about freezing radiators, cold pipes and communication issues with management companies. Illustrative photo: Slovo Pravdy

The heating season began in Mykolaiv on 3 November. The Executive Committee gave heating suppliers ten days to switch on the heating throughout the city. Temperatures have started to drop below zero at night, but not all homes have heating yet.

This is evidenced by numerous complaints from Mykolaiv residents in a survey by NikVesti and in the Contact Centre group on the Mykolaiv City Council’s page.

Icy radiators

The Executive Committee passed a resolution to commence the heating season on 2 November. Under the decision, department heads were instructed to prioritise heating for healthcare, education and social welfare facilities, as well as other social and cultural institutions, before providing heating to residential buildings.

In a survey conducted by NikVesti, as of the morning of 11 November, residents of Mykolaivka reported a lack of heating in some homes. The majority of complaints concerned the Ingulskyi district, specifically: 74-A Pivdenna Street, 60, 74 and 124 Kosmonavtiv Street, 27 Vitalii Bohonok Street (Tchaikovsky Street), 33-A Pivdenna Street, 15 1st Line Street, and Dmytro Kremin Street.

«33-A Pivdenna Street. There hasn’t been any heating at all. The temperature in the room is 12°C,» wrote Svitlana.

Residents also reported a lack of heating in other districts — Zavodskyi and Tsentralnyi: 5 Heorhii Honhadze Street, 25 Korabeliv Street, 49 and 51 Vadym Blahovisnyi Street, 171 Tsentralnyi Avenue, and 49 6th Slobidska Street.

There are also reports that in some flats, some radiators may be warm whilst others are cold. Specifically, at 15-A Ozerna Street, 15-A Mykolaivska Street, 20 Kolodiazna Street, and 82 Ihor Bedzai Street.

«20 Kolodyazna Street: out of three radiators, only one is barely warm; the other two are ice-cold. Draining the water doesn’t help. We’ve submitted complaints to «Central 1» via the city executive committee’s hotline. No result whatsoever,» wrote Tetiana.

At 20 Kolodiazna Street, some radiators are warm, but contacting the management company has yielded no results. Screenshot from the NikVesti survey

Residents also reported barely warm radiators at 106 Ihor Bedzai Street, 51 Teatralna Street and 132 Sculptor Izmalkov Street.

«132 Sculptor Izmalkov Street. The radiators have been barely warm for five days,» reported Olena.

No heat without electricity

Another problem for Mykolaiv residents is the lack of heating during power cuts. According to reports from residents in the NikVesti survey, this problem affects 13 1st Slobidska Street, 5–7 Dachna Street, 7 Hennadii Matuliak Street and 1 6th Slobidska Street.

Residents have reported the same situation to the Mykolaiv City Council’s contact centre during power cuts in various parts of the city.

«Why isn’t the boiler room at 69-K Peredova Street providing heating when there is a power cut? There are elderly people and young children living in the building. Please look into this,» wrote Olena Deordieva.

Oblasteploenergo replied that the boiler rooms depend on the electricity supply. They do not plan to switch on the generators for the first 10 days whilst the heating is being brought up to temperature.

Residents are complaining that without electricity there is no heating. Screenshot from the Contact Centre group on the Mykolaiv City Council’s page

Residents are complaining that there is no heating without electricity. Screenshot from the Mykolaiv City Council’s Contact Centre group

Another resident noted that inverters had been installed at the individual heating substation on Kherson Highway and at 7/1 Hennadii Matuliak Street, but the boiler room does not work without electricity. According to Vira Kalnytska, this situation has been recurring for years.

«Please tell me, how much longer can we, the residents of Kherson Highway and 7/1 Hennadii Matuliak Street, put up with this heating fiasco? It’s 0 degrees outside, we have no heating because the boiler room won’t work without electricity, and if we want to switch the lights on, we have to call the emergency service to come and get the boiler room up and running. And by the time they arrive and get the heating going, the power’s cut off again. They’ve done everything for the residents: replaced the pipes, installed the individual heating units, fitted an inverter — yet here we are, sitting in cold flats, freezing. This situation has been going on every year for the past five years. obltelenergo, what are we paying for? We pay in summer and in winter,» wrote Vira Kalnytska.

In the comments, residents reported that this situation is occurring alongside power cuts in various parts of the city.

Residents report a lack of heating as well as power cuts. Screenshot from the Contact Centre group on the Mykolaiv City Council page

Residents are reporting a lack of heating as well as power cuts. Screenshot from the Contact Centre group on the Mykolaiv City Council page

On 9 November, at a staff meeting at Mykolaiv City Council, the head of «Mykolaivobltheploenergo», Mykola Lohvinov, confirmed that the generators are not being switched on. According to him, 13 million hryvnias’ worth of fuel is required every month. The company therefore plans to switch on the generators during cold spells.

«I propose we switch them on when the temperature reaches zero or below. When the weather is above zero, we won’t be able to cover the costs. 13 million a month is a lot,» said Mykola Lohvinov, director of the regional heating company.

Complaints about management companies

Residents are also complaining that the air needs to be bled from the radiators in their blocks, yet the management companies are in no hurry to do so.

«37 Kolodiazhna Street, second entrance — the radiators are cold. When I contacted the «Central 1» housing and utilities company, they replied: «You need to bleed the radiators more often.» Who is supposed to do that? My rent is 442 hryvnias. I have no outstanding debts,» wrote Olha Rudenko.

Complaints about property management companies. Screenshot from the Contact Centre group on the Mykolaiv City Council page

Mykolaiv residents are asking property management companies to investigate why entire risers remain cold.

«14 Kytoboiv Street. The risers are cold in the three-room flats in the second block, even though the other flats in the building already have heating. «City for People» has not received any instructions regarding the acceptance of reports about a lack of heating in residential buildings. And I would like to say that the operator rudely hung up on me whilst refusing to take my details,» wrote Olha Lebid.

Complaints about management companies. Screenshot from the Contact Centre group on the Mykolaiv City Council page

Residents of 67 Zakhysnykiv Street reported that they had not received a response from the property management company.

«There has been no heating in the building since 8 November; we rang the management company «Mykolaivdomservice»: the reason given was a leaking radiator in entrance 1 on the 5th floor. The question is, how could they have turned off the heating in the whole building, rather than just in one entrance? Eighty flats have been without heating for three days now. The temperature inside is 16 degrees. «We rang to ask why the heating had been turned off throughout the whole building, but we didn’t receive a reply,» said resident Anzhela.

Complaints about management companies. Screenshot from the Contact Centre group on the Mykolaiv City Council page

Residents are also complaining about a lack of information from the management companies.

«26-A Bohoiavlenskyi Avenue — no heating! The CHP plant says that work in our neighbourhood has been completed. Yet it’s impossible to get through to «City for People» on the phone, and there’s no information at all! Please could someone tell me if there’s anyone in this city who has any influence over this company?», wrote Olga Timofeeva.

Complaints about management companies. Screenshot from the Contact Centre group on the Mykolaiv City Council page

Mykolaiv residents noted that in the summer, the management company reported that the buildings were ready for the heating season, but then a pipe burst.

«At 28 Myru Avenue, there has been a complete lack of heating since 8 November. A pipe burst whilst the heating was being connected. The most interesting thing is that back in the summer, the management company «City for People» reported that the building had been fully inspected and was ready for the heating season. But when it came down to it — we’ve had a breakdown on the very first day! It’s only +8 degrees in the flat right now! It’s simply impossible to live in such conditions. Meanwhile, the «City for People» helpline simply brushes us off: they say they «bear no responsibility» and only accept reports. They collect the building maintenance fees regularly and on time, but when it comes to solving the actual problem and taking responsibility — well, nobody is accountable for anything,» wrote Maryna Kaba.

Complaints about management companies. Screenshot from the Contact Centre group on the Mykolaiv City Council’s page

Mykolaiv residents have also reported that they are unable to get any help from the company «Zatyshnyi Dim».

«At 1-B Buzkyi Boulevard, half the building has no heating. Why should half the residents of the building pay for heating that isn’t there? The «Zatyshnyi Dim» management company isn’t answering calls, so the problem has remained unresolved for two days. We demand that heating be restored to the entire building immediately… During power cuts, the flats cool down quickly. Furthermore, for three years the management company has failed to resolve the issue of poor-quality heating supply via one of the building’s risers,» she wrote. «For the past few months, the management company has not been providing cleaning services for the area around the building, yet it has not reduced the charges for these months. «We ask that the problems of the building’s residents, who pay their utility bills on time, be resolved immediately,» wrote Svitlana.

Reports on the start of the heating season

During a staff meeting at Mykolaiv City Council on 9 November, Mayor Oleksandr Sienkevych criticised the work of the thermal power plant. The mayor questioned the feasibility of a 10-day deadline for the start of heating, as city residents remain without heating during this period.

The mayor also instructed officials to check the temperature of the heating medium supplied by the Mykolaiv Thermal Power Station to ascertain whether residents are being charged for heating of substandard quality. Oleksandr Sienkevych noted that flats remain cold.

Mykola Lohvinov, head of «Mykolaivobltheploenergo», reported that four residential blocks and Gymnasium №16 are not yet receiving heating due to the installation of new boiler rooms. They planned to supply heating «in the coming days».

On the evening of 10 November, Mayor Oleksandr Sienkevych reported that 97 per cent of the city’s heating supply had been activated. According to him, heating has been switched on in 1,928 out of 1,976 residential buildings served by «Mykolaivoblteploenergo» and «Mykolaiv Thermal Power Station».

In particular, it was reported that as of 10 November, «Mykolaivobltelpoenergo» had supplied heating to 1,218 out of 1,230 residential buildings. All schools, nurseries, hospitals, sports and social facilities served by the company are also being heated. Among cultural institutions, 20 out of 25 have received heating.

«Mykolaivoblteploenergo» has started supplying heating to 710 out of 746 residential buildings. All schools, nurseries, hospitals, sports, cultural and social facilities connected to the company’s networks already have heating.

On the morning of 11 November, Mykolaiv Thermal Power Station reported that it was not carrying out any repairs and therefore advised residents to contact their property management companies in the event of a lack of heating.

«As of the morning of 11 November, PJSC «Mykolaiv Thermal Power Plant» is not carrying out any repair work that would require the suspension of the heat supply to consumers. If there is no heating in your flat, please contact the property manager responsible for your building — the management company, housing and communal services department or representatives of the homeowners’ association — to check the condition of the building’s internal heating system,» the TPP’s statement reads.

Earlier, the Mykolaivobltheploenergo Municipal Enterprise explained where to turn if there is no heating in your flat. If the radiators are cold, residents are advised to first contact the management company, the housing and communal services department or the chair of the homeowners’ association. If the problem is not resolved, residents should report it to the Mykolaiv City Council Contact Centre.

The company noted that it supplies the heat carrier to the building’s heating substation, whilst the balance holder is responsible for its reception and distribution within the building. In particular, they must open the shut-off valves and ensure the circulation of the heat carrier.