The utility company Kyivteploenergo has clarified the procedure for calculating fees for heat consumed and explained how forced power outages affect these calculations. The company emphasizes that the key factor determining heat consumption remains air temperature, not the duration of power outages.
In buildings where home heat meters are installed, residents pay only for the actual gigacalories consumed according to the readings of the meters. There are almost 90 percent of such high-rise buildings in the capital. In January, the amount of heat consumed in Kyiv was primarily due to weather conditions. The average daily air temperature was minus 0.3 degrees, while in December it was higher and amounted to about minus 0.7 degrees.
In houses without meters, charges are made taking into account the actual periods of heat supply and electricity outage. At the same time, Kyivteploenergo notes that power outages in themselves do not significantly reduce the total amount of heat consumption. This is explained by the physics of the process: during a four-hour electricity outage, the batteries and water in the internal building system cool down, the temperature of the coolant decreases almost by half. After the power supply is restored, the house begins to intensively "recover" heat in order to return the system to its original parameters. Because of this, savings are either absent or minimal.
For buildings where it is technically impossible to install heat meters, the cost of heating is calculated based on the heat load, taking into account the actual number of hours of heat supply and the average monthly outdoor temperature. In the event of emergency power outages, the company's own data on interruptions in the operation of heat sources, information from building managers and data from the electricity network operator are taken into account when calculating.
Separately, Kyivteploenergo explained the situation with houses that have an independent heating system with a heat exchanger, where the centralized coolant does not mix with the internal one. In such buildings, the heat fee is calculated based on the data of the electricity distribution system operator. There are about fifty such facilities in the capital. Residents or managers of these houses can initiate adjustments to charges by submitting an application with supporting data on the number of hours of electricity outage and the heat supply scheme.
The company reminds that heating charges are made according to a single nationwide method of distributing the volume of consumed utilities. At the same time, heating tariffs for the population remain at the same level as last year.
The explanations came against the backdrop of a difficult situation in the energy sector. Last week, the Ukrainian power system experienced one of the most serious loads since the large-scale blackout of 2022. After combined attacks on the energy infrastructure against the background of frost, the system was operating at the limit of its capabilities. The government is already allocating additional funds for mobile generation for regions with critical needs and expects increased international support to restore the power system.
